Light Within the Dark
by Izzie-short.and.sweet
Summary: You have to have the perfect balance of light and dark in order to truly thrive. TAKES PLACE AFTER THE MOVIE. M.i.m decides that Pitch needs to be taught the meaning of harmony and inlists the help of the spirit of Halloween. However what will happen when Pitch's old demons appear? Pitchxoc Pitch/oc , female oc .
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is my first fan fic so plz read and review, I tried to research as much as I could so that the information would be accurate, I will try my best to update and explain any terms that might be confusing. warning slight character death. Enjoy :)**

**Light within the dark**

Without the dark, people take the light for granted. It's like the gift of sight; you use it every day without even the slightest thought about it. But by closing your eyes ,you plunge into darkness, and soon find yourself yearning to see the sky. You have to first lose the ability to see the world around you to truly appreciate it. Without comparison of the dark, how do you expect people to see the light? Just like a lily, too much light can cause it to shrivel and burn. However too much shade will make it wilt and die. You have to have the perfect harmony of light and dark in order to truly thrive.

October 31, 1672,

All hallows eve…..

"Soul, soul, an apple or two, If you haven't an apple, a pear will do, One for Peter, two for Paul, Three for the Man Who made us all." A soft voiced chimed in the dark. That night the moon cast its light brighter than usual upon the world bellow. a young woman walked through the narrow streets. The sharp, staccato, sounds of footsteps echoed through the dark. Wind blew softly tossing raven strand up into the crisp autumn air. The woman shivered and drew her shawl tighter around her lithe form.

Jacqueline looked around with sharp brown eyes, men and women were returning from Samhain feasts, where they indulged in a banquet surrounding a blazing bonfire. Many wore guises such as horned hats, billowing capes, and demonic masks. She couldn't help but smile as a pair of drunks stumbled past her singing of soul cakes. While many feared this night, what with the threat of evil fairies and demons roaming the night, Jacqueline had to admit she was quiet fond of it.

The mystery, and adventure, the excitement of putting on a mask and being someone else for a night, was all but too appealing to the young woman. But who could blame her for wanting to escape reality for one night? Nobody really, not unless you considered being a twenty five year old spinster a satisfying life. Most men found her pale skin sickly, her dark locks daunting, and her interest in mythology downright strange. This was unfortunate because ever since she came of age she dreamed of meeting a man and starting a family.

Jacqueline loved children and they seemed to love her back just as much. In fact that was the reason she was walking down these bustling streets that very night. Jacqueline's brother-in-law was away on business so she had decided to keep her sister company by having dinner with her and her nephew. She smiled at the thought of her nephew with his big curious blue eyes. _Blue just like his mothers_ she contemplated with a sigh. Her sister had been lucky and took after their mother who had deep blue eyes and soft chocolate hair. Meanwhile Jacqueline had taken after her father and his bleak looks. _Fate truly must be cruel _she thought with a humorless smile.

Looking up Jacqueline noticed she was in front of her sister's house, and with a smile walked up and lightly rapped on the heavy oak door. After waiting a few moments she heard the sound of feet thundering down the stairs and suddenly the door flew open.

"Aunty Jacqui!" a loud shout sounded through the night. Jacqueline was barely able to make out a mop of brown hair before a pair of small arms tangled around her waist. She nearly fell over from the impact but caught herself and looked down, a pair of sparkling azure eyes looking up at her from a grinning boys face. The grin spread to her own face as she bent down and scooped the boy up into her arms. The young boy let out a squeal of laughter as she carried him back into the house.

"Colan! My goodness look how much you've grown! You're nearly a young man now!" she said with a laugh as she set him down in the parlor. She crouched down in front of him and asked him with a mischievous grin, "has your mother been feeding you enchanted beans?" Her nephew gave her a gap tooth smile and said, "no mam', but she has been complain' that I'm eatn' us out of house an' home!" at this Jacqueline gave a hardy laugh, "yes, well that does sound about right."

"Jacqueline dear, is that you?" a voice called from the hall

"Yes Aimee, Colan and I are in the parlor!" she shouted back. The dark haired woman rose from her crouching position as her sister walked into the room. Aimee walked up and gave her a light hug, "oh Jacqui it is so nice of you to visit especially on a night like this."

"Oh don't mind that, you know I love Halloween. It doesn't bother me at all," Giving her sister a reassuring smile as she pulled out of the embrace. Aimee sighed and shook her head "I'm afraid I never will understand you, such a strange girl you are." Jacqueline knew her sister had only meant it jokingly but still her own self consciousness made the words sting, like a lash upon the skin.

Her sister seemingly oblivious to Jacqueline's sudden change in mood walked over to where Colan had been sitting, listening to their conversation. Scooping him up and heading out the room she turned around to face Jacqueline. "I've already prepared supper it's on the table, come on" she said warmly. The brown eyed girl simply nodded and followed her sister down the hall.

As they sat their eating Jacqueline could gradually feel her mood lighten. She and her sister gossiped and reminisced, while she told Colan tales of dancing sprites & smiling pumpkins. As they laughed and joked everything seemed right in the world. That is until a pungent odor wafted into the room causing Jacqueline to choke. Immediately she recognized the stench. Panic raced through her body her eyes flashed to her sisters wide blue orbs, and instantly she knew Aimee smelt it too. Smoke began to fill the room as Jacqueline shot out of her seat and ran down the hall. Blocking the door were flames that licked the ceiling and crept closer to her family and her. **Keep them safe**. that was the only thought that made sense in her terror filled mind. The smoke burnt her lungs as she whirled around and ran back towards the dining room. A string of words were starting to form more clearly in her mind now**. ****Save them, KEEP THEM SAFE!** And as she scooped her nephew up in her arms and grabbed her sister's hand she could think only one thing. **I WILL PROTECT THEM!**

Jacqueline could barely make out her nephew's terrified sobs over the roar of the blaze. Her mind was completely focused on getting her family to the kitchen, where they could get out through the back door. Flames surrounded her, singeing her flesh and burning her thick skirts. Smoldering ash and smoke flew through the air making it hard to not only see but also to breathe. Her eyes began to water as she tripped over debris trying to navigate her loved ones to the safety at the end of the red haze.

The roar and crackling was getting louder as cinders and embers began falling on them. A loud crack sounded above them just to their left as a portion of the wall collapsed. A shrill cry of alarm could be heard above the roaring fire. Jacqueline swung her head around to see Aimee's terrified, soot caked face, but other than her tears she looked uninjured. Spinning back around Jacqueline pushed forward into the flames. They had to keep moving, Jacqueline knew that it wouldn't be long till the rest of the house followed the walls example and proceed to crumble around them.

Sweat trickled down Jacqueline's neck matting her dark locks together. They had just reached the kitchen, and she could see the exit a few yards in front of her. A wave of hope washed over her,"we're going to make it!" she wheezed_. _But fate decided to rear its ugly head once more as an ominous, splintering sound was heard directly above them. Fears icy blade cut through her as she snapped her eyes up to the ceiling to see a huge wooden beam starting to break away from the foundation.

There was no way she would be able to drag her nephew, sister, and herself out of the impact zone in time. She didn't have to think about what she would do. In the future if asked if she regretted her decision, her answer would always be the same. No. if she had to, she would repeat her actionsw over and over again no matter how hard she thought about it. Her decision had been made, and with no time to waste she put her plan in action.

Right as the beam was about to come crashing down, she dragged her sister forward trough the flames, shoved her nephew into his mother's arms and threw them towards the door to safety. A deafening crack and a heart wrenching wail where the last sounds Jacqueline heard, before a painful impact caused her vision to go black.

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She woke up in a vacant field, showered in radiant moon light. Even though the sky was clear now, the smell of fresh rain hung in the air. The grass bellow her was damp, but in some strange way it seemed to comfort her, like a child being cradled in their mothers arms. _Where am I_? She could hear a soft voice but couldn't quite place it. _What's going on?_ There it was again! Wait, was that…her? Her…but who was she? _Jacqueline…my name is Jacqueline. _Then she heard it, a soft, kindly, voice, but this time it wasn't hers. _Yes, your name is Jacqueline O'lenturn. You are the spirit of Halloween_. It was the moon! How she knew it she wasn't sure, but she could feel she was correct. Wait, hold on a second, Spirit of Halloween, what was that supposed to mean. What was she supposed to do? Everything was a blur and the more she tried to remember the little details about herself, the more perplexing it all became. The voice came again, _don't worry_ _everything will soon become clear. _Then it faded away and she was left alone again.

Jacqueline stood up trying to get her bearings. She looked down and quite frankly was a bit shocked by her attire. She was wearing a sleeveless, collared, black, laced, blouse along with a tight, black, skirt that reached to her mid-thigh. Over that she wore a deep mauve under bust corset and, a ruffled orange bustle. Her legs were clad in black and white, striped, thigh high stockings with grey heels that included skeleton faces on the fronts. A flash of orange caught her eyes, causing her hands to fly to her head. Grabbing a lock of her long raven hair, she realized the tips had turned a ginger color. As she ran her hand through her multicolored hair, the tips of her fingers brushed against something that made her freeze.

Looking around for some kind of a reflective surface, Jacqueline spotted a puddle, left over from the rain. Rushing over she knelt down to investigate her suspicions. Sure enough a pair of lightly pointed ears peeked out from beneath her bright hair. She inspected her face and spotted a pair of golden eyes staring back at her. Jacqueline's skin seemed even paler than before but now it simply seemed fitting. Still the sudden change in her appearance and her spotty memories shook Jacqueline to the core.

Her mind went numb as she got back to her feet. This was too much; her brain couldn't process all of these sudden developments. _I just need to take a step back, to breathe, to get away…_ then suddenly as though summoned by her thoughts; a light glow appeared behind her. Slowly turning around she stared wide-eyed at what looked like a giant floating jack o' lantern. It lazily bobbed in the air, as it glowed from within. It was smiling at her, as it knew something she didn't. _This was too much_, she thought and turned to leave, but the grinning pumpkin followed at her heels like a lost puppy. She stopped to face it, but a nudge against the back of her knees caused her to lose balance. She fell backwards only to be caught in a sitting position, by the overgrown, floating, vegetable. "What are you doing!" she cried as the jack o' lantern started to ascend into the sky.

Scared of the thought of plummeting to the ground Jacqueline clung to the pumpkin as it soared into the night. But as she looked down the peaceful nighttime scenery, the fear seamed to melt into something else. Adrenaline coursed through her veins causing her chest to flutter and her skin to burn. The heat in her skin contrasted sharply with the cool autumn air, causing her to shudder. A bright smile, not unlike the jack o' lantern's, spread across her features.

A bright blaze in the corner of her eye caused her to turn her head. Looking over the side of the pumpkin, she saw a small town. From her vantage point in the sky she could see I giant bonfire in the middle of the town square. As if sensing her curiosity the jack o' lantern slowly descended so that its passenger could get a better look at the festivities. Dark figures clad in cloaks and masks danced around the burning inferno. Their feet moved to the rhythmic thumps of the drums, while their bodies twisted and waltzed to the intoxicating melody a light hum of chatter and laughter drifted through the air, and in it Jacqueline could practically taste the emotions running through the crowd. The flavors consisted mainly of excitement, curiosity, and a touch of fear. The newborn spirit took closed her eyes and took a deep breath, savoring the taste. It was addicting, like a new drug, which caused her mind to swim & her senses to tingle. She opened her eyes that now seemed to glow like molten gold, and gave a wolfish grin.

The moon had been correct; everything seemed to make so much more sense now. This mysterious, yet enthralling new essence was the reason she was here. A symphony of pleasure and fear, light and dark, it was hers to guard and share as she pleased. It was her center; she was and would forever be, Jacqueline O'lenturn, the spirit of Halloween, guardian of excitement.

A new sense of power flooded through the floating spirit as she crossed her legs and leaned back to enjoy the view. She smirked down at the dancing beings below her and a warm sensation built-in her chest. "Come along my friend," she said as she gave the floating jack o' lantern a light pat,"we have some excitement to spread." And with that the pumpkin rose into the night sky until it was only a glowing speck in the sky, spreading a trail of exhilaration in its wake.

**a/n: plz review :) ok so in the next chapter there will be a bit of a time jump, but Jacqueline will finally meet the guardians, and the story will begin! please follow & leave reviews 'cause i love them, and it's always awesome to hear your comments, questions, and suggestions! luv y'all!**


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: ok so to answer the question relating to when Jacqueline died (she died in 1672). Which I am assuming was before Jack Frost died. I am estimating that jack was between 16-18 years old when he died, and in the movie it said he had been dead for about 300 years. This means he died around the mid 1680's. Which means Jacqueline died about ten years before him, which btw was completely coincidental XD. Also warning: there is a bit of a time jump in this chapter. But anyways thanks for the reviews I love them so much! & thank you for the cool ideas for Jacqueline's powers, I will try to use a few! So here's ch.3, enjoy! Pls review!**_

**Light within the dark ch.3**

***DISCLAIMER: I do not own any characters except for my OC's. all credit for the other characters go to ****William Joyce**** & ****DreamWorks Animation****.***

Nicholas St. North anxiously paced in front of the globe, as the other guardians sat there waiting, patiently, and professionally. Well actually Sandy was asleep, Bunnymund was glaring at an elf that had just tried to stick its tongue in the rabbits hot cocoa, Jack was laughing at the traumatized face of the elf in question, and Tooth was flitting around talking to her fairies about the reconstruction of her tooth palace. No one seemed to notice the edgy Russian as he walked back and forth.

The group of spirits was in a relatively good mood, aside from the occasional cocoa thieving elf. It had been exactly three months since the incident with Pitch and the restorations were all ready well under way. Jaime and the rest of the kids in Burgess had spread the stories of the guardians to their friends who spread it to others until finally almost half their believers had been restored. Tooth with the help of her fairies and fellow guardians had begun the repairs on her palace, and the yetis were helping Bunny prepare eggs for next Easter. Suddenly the large bearded man stopped pacing and turned on his heel to face the other spirits. Clearing his throat to get their attention, then after waiting a moment to make sure they were focused on him, he began to speak, "My fellow Guardians. I've called us all here for a reason and very good reason at dat. Dis morning Man in Moon contacted me, and told me to gather guardians together-"

"Is it Pitch?! Is he back?!" Tooth flew in front of North, worry flashing in her eyes. Bunny stood at this, "Crikey! Don't tell me that snake decided to slither out of his hole! We barely started the repairs from the last time!" Jack patted the pookas back and smiled at him, "Don't worry we beat him once we can beat him again" he told them reassuringly, looking to the sandman for support. The little, gold man smiled and gave a thumbs up showing his agreement.

"Wait! Wait, my friends!" North bellowed, "I do not know vat Manny vants! He simply told me to gather guardians. Dis' might not even be about pitch!"

The other guardians looked skeptical but said nothing more about the topic. Just then a wandering moon beam was cast into the room through the skylight. "Well it's about bloody time!" Aster exclaimed, crossing his paws over his burly chest. The stray moon beam moved to the center of the floor. The pale light began to twist & sketch a picture on the smooth tiles. It was a circle that was split down the middle with a curved line, half was black and the other was white. "Vat is dat?" North asked curiously. "I think it's called a yin, yang symbol, it represents the balance of good and evil." Tooth whispered. Then a figure appeared on the black side, it was a man with narrow features, shrouded in a black cloak.

As the figure stood there the line down the middle began to blur and the black pigment began to bleed into the white area. It was like watching black ink disperse in a glass of water, turning everything it touched dark and twisted.

"Pitch," Bunnymund growled, "I knew it!"

"Wait, what's that?" Tooth pointed with a dainty finger at the glowing picture.

Just before the shadows reached the edge of the white portion, and overtook the entire circle, a figure appeared. It was a woman with long black hair dressed in something similar to a Victorian fashion. As her figure became more stable the white side of the circle began to push the shadows back into their place. Slowly but surely the circle returned to its original form, and eventually, the balance between the light and the dark was restored. At this point the two figures turned to face each other; both raising one of their hands and placing their palms together. The yin, yang symbol began to glow, gradually getting brighter and brighter.

North and Bunnymund, who where the closest to the circle, stumbled back and tried to shield their eyes. Tooth let out a yelp, and Sandy & Jack turned their faces away as the radiant light filled the room. Then the light began to fade, and the only thing left was the figure of the smiling woman suspended in the air.

"Who is that?" Jack squinted at the individual, his eyes still recovering from the flash of light.

Tooth flew closer and inspected the figure, "is that, no it can't be…"

"What who is it?!" Jack asked.

A grin found it's was on to North's jolly face as he let out a bellowing laugh," who vould of thought da Nightmare King, and the Mistress of Fright! Ho Ha Ha! Oh, Manny my friend you are a funny one!"

"Will someone please tell me who this lady is?!" Jack shouted, becoming thoroughly annoyed. Bunnymund walked up and slung an arm around the frost spirits shoulder, "That, mate, is Jacqueline O'lenturn." The confusion must have shown in Jacks eyes, because the pooka continued to elaborate, "The Mistress of Fright, Jacqueline O'lenturn, spirit of Halloween, & Guardian of Excitement." Sandy formed a picture of a jack o' lantern with his dream sand, and then pointed to the floating woman with a nod.

"It seems me friends, that Manny thinks Pitch can learn a thing or two from dis woman." North said with a slight chuckle in his voice, "Looks like ve must bag us a mistress of fright."

Jack shuddered at the memories of the day he was first chosen to be a guardian. "Anything but the bag. PLEASE!"

~o0o~

"_She was and would forever be, Jacqueline O'lenturn, the spirit of Halloween, guardian of excitement. It was hers to guard and share as she pleased "_

Jacqueline sighed at the memory of that fateful night as she leaned over the terrace overlooking the moonlit gardens behind her manor. Over the last 340 years or so she had made many discoveries about not only her powers but also the role she played in the world around her. Her duty was to bring excitement not only to the children but also the adults of the world.

Taking a deep breath of cool night air, Jacqueline tried to relax. It wasn't particularly difficult to spread thrill around the world, however I wasn't particularly easy either. Every so often a day would come by, for example today, where Jacqueline would rather curl up in the parlor and read, or maybe take her favorite spider web, laced parasol and simply take a stroll in the vast flower gardens behind Shadow Manor.

Shadow Manor was invisible to the normal mortal eye; it could not be seen unless you were a believer in Jacqueline O'lenturn, something which was unfortunately rare. The structure in question had been built quit literally from Jacqueline's mind. Now do not be mistaken and assume that this was one of the Halloween spirits powers, and that she could simply conjure up random building with the snap of a finger. No, not at all, in fact the process of creating Shadow Manor had taken a long & strenuous three days that left Jacqueline completely drained, with absolutely no desire to ever do it again.

She vividly remembered telling her pet jack o' lantern, "If anything were to happen to this place we will simply have to live in a tree, because I refuse to rebuild it". At that the floating pumpkin showed no signs of response, as always, but Jacqueline knew it understood. However the hard work was well worth it. Shadow Manor was a two story Victorian styled mansion, which included a ballroom, grand library, a sun room, and 10 bedrooms, each with their own balcony; a study room, a kitchen, and a huge porcelain bathroom. There were other smaller rooms and two staircases in the house. One staircase was inside, it lead from the first story to the second, and another stairway on the terrace, where Jacqueline currently stood, which led down to the garden grounds.

The enticing idea to go for a stroll among the flowers tickled at the Halloween spirit's thoughts. "Trick? Treat? Could you please come here?" she called into the house through the open terrace doors. What looked to be two young children with bat wings flew outside and circled Jacqueline. One, a little girl with short, pink hair, tiny horns, and glowing orange eyes hovered in front of the taller woman. "Yes, Miss Jacqui? What would you like?" the little imp asked.

"Well you see Treat; I would like to go for a walk in the garden. Could you and Trick get my parasol, the one with spider web lace." she said while gesturing towards the black haired boy floating next to her. Much like his sister, Trick also had small horns and glowing orange eyes. However, while Treat had a sweet smile, Trick had a scheming smirk that consisted of small pointed teeth. Trick & Treat both nodded and flew back into the house to fetch their mistress' parasol.

Jacqueline closed her eyes and thought back to how the two children and fallen into her care. After that night 340 years ago, Jacqueline had spent much of her time alone. She knew there were others like her out there in the world; she simply didn't know where to find them. About 100 years after she was reborn as a spirit, Jacqueline's loneliness had built to an almost unbearable point. She often found herself sitting on people's window sills as they ate dinner with their families, watching them, unseen and unheard. Imagining what it would be like to be able to talk to someone, to be hugged by someone, or share her life with someone.

One night while hovering above a small town with her jack o' lantern, she saw a figure floating above a couple who were walking side by side. The figure wore a white cloak and hood that hid their face but still Jacqueline was intrigued. _Could it be another spirit, _she thought. A thrill of hope caused her heart to do somersaults, as she moved closer to investigate. The unknown person reached into the folds of their cloak and began to rummage around. A shock wave of fear was sent up Jacqueline's spine as the figure pulled out a golden cross-bow and aimed it at the couple below.

"Stop!" Jacqueline cried. But it had been to late the figure had pulled the trigger and sent the arrow flying towards the man. Jacqueline watched in horror as the arrow pierced the man's chest. The man froze for a split second, and then Jacqueline realized there was no blood. The girl who had been walking with the man and turned to smile at the man curiously, as if she couldn't see the arrow sticking out of his torso. The arrow began to shimmer then fade and a glimmer filled the man's eyes. He smiled back at the girl and grabbed her hand. The girls blushed but let him do so as they continued on their way down the street. Jacqueline hovered there, dumbfounded. _What the hell had just happened!? _

"Sorry about that. I didn't see you there, if I had I would have given you a bit of a warning." A voice came from beside her. Jacqueline slowly turned her head, almost not believing that someone was actually talking directly to her. Her golden eyes meet two glimmering pink ones. In front of her stood a tan woman at least half a head taller than her with a wild mane of auburn curls. She was wearing a long white Greek styled dress along with a golden belt with a heart-shaped buckle. On her head she wore bundles of golden leafs tucked behind her ears, and on her feet she wore a pair of golden strappy heels.

Jacqueline just sat there on top of her pumpkin staring like an idiot. _She can see me! She can really see me!_ She screamed in her head. The woman obviously not comfortable with Jacqueline's wide-eyed stare, arched an eyebrow. "Well I'm just gunna go, lots of love-sick saps to shoot in the butt and all. See ya around." And with that she turned and began to float away.

With the only person who could see her slowly floating away, Jacqueline snapped out of her stupor. "Wait!" she called after the tan woman. The woman in question turned to look at Jacqueline, with a slightly impatient gaze. Jacqueline was still too shocked to notice the woman's gaze, and began to talk, "I'm sorry it's just that I haven't talked to anyone in over 100 years. I was just surprised to see you. Are you a spirit?" The woman's harsh gaze instantly softened as she began to examine the Halloween spirit more closely. "I see. You're still a rather new spirit aren't you? You don't have many believers yet, huh? Yes I am a spirit. The spirit of love. My name is Valen Tiamorie." with a smile, she held out her hand to Jacqueline. The guardian of excitement flashed her own grin and graciously took Valen's hand. "I'm Jacqueline. Jacqueline o'lenturn, spirit of Halloween and excitement."

From there their friendship had taken flight and the two spirits became almost inseparable. It had been Valen who had shown Jacqueline how to create her own dwelling, and it was also Valen who taught her how to break off a tiny piece of her soul and divide it into smaller bodies, called helpers. Valen herself had almost a thousand little creature called cupids, which helped her spread love to the world. However Jacqueline had simply wanted someone to help out here and there and to keep her company, and thus Trick and Treat were born. Trick embodied half of Jacqueline's personality, the dark scary tricksters, while Treat embodied the other, sweet, quirky half. They were a bit clingy and could sometimes be a hand full, especially when they got a hold of sugar. But they were like her own children and she wouldn't change that for the world.

Jacqueline opened her eyes when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Trick and Treat both holding an end of the parasol she had asked for. "Here you go, Miss Jacqui!" They exclaimed in unison. The dark haired woman smiled and took the object for them. "Why thank you my dears, I will be back soon try not to cause any trouble." And with that she started down the stairs towards the gardens.

As she walked among the many fragrant flowers, Jacqueline could feel the tension begin to slip from her shoulders. Her parasol which was balanced on her right shoulder as it cast a spider web shaped shadow around her feet. It was almost as if she were a fly caught in a web, and no matter how far she traveled she would always be caught in this never-ending web. _That's strange,_ she thought, _why did I imagine myself as the fly, why not the spider, I am the one holding the web in my hands, am I not? _

As she continued to ponder this trivial thought she heard a twig snap behind her. She whipped around but saw nothing except for a large camellia bush. Narrowing her eyes suspiciously Jacqueline took a step closer. Her grip tightened on her parasol as she closed it and brandished it like a base ball bat, ready to strike anyone stupid enough to try and sneak up on her. "Who's there? Show yourself before I turn your miserable asses into pumpkins and hollow you out into jack o'lanturns!" now she didn't actually have the ability to do this, however most of the time her bluff usually worked. And as two figures stepped out of the bush with their hands raised, it seemed like now would be one of those times. "Alright! Alright! We're coming out ya crazy Sheila!" a deep voice with a thick Australian accent, sounded through the dark.

Jacqueline raised an eyebrow as she saw a giant rabbit and a pale, white haired boy walk out of the bushes. The teen gave a laugh and taunted the rabbit," jeez kangaroo you look about ready to piss yourself." The Halloween spirit couldn't help but smirk at this. "Oh bloody hell! Shut up frostbite!" the bunny shouted back. At this Jacqueline's chuckle turned into a full blown laugh. The two males turned at the sound and looked at her inquisitively. The dark haired woman stopped laughing and at this point had lowered her parasol and was currently using it to lean on. With one hand on her hip and the other on the parasol, she smirked, "so if my guess is correct you're the Easter bunny," she said nodding at the over grown rabbit, "and your Jack Frost." She said looking at the pale teen. The rabbit simply crossed his arms and grunted in confirmation, while jack gave his trade mark frosty smile. "That's right, how'd you know?" the blue eyed boy said.

"HA! Are you kidding me? After that stunt you guys pulled a couple months ago I doubt you could find a single spirit out there that didn't know your name!" _even one as isolated as me, _she thought but did not add. "So what brings a couple of celebrities like you down to my humble abode? Not trying to sneak into my Halloween candy supply are you? Because I'm pretty sure Toothiana wouldn't be happy about all the cavities you'll get." She stated with a smirk.

"No, it's nothin' like that," Aster began," we need you to come back to the pole with us. It's a direct order from the M.I.M himself." Jacqueline arched an eyebrow at this, she hadn't heard from the man in the moon since she first became a spirit. Logically she should have be scrambling to try and talk to him, but Jacqueline was stubborn and instead said," oh really, and what if I don't want to go?" Jack grimaced and Bunny shook his head, both of these actions made her frown.

Aster sighed "sorry Sheila, didn't want ta do this, but we have to if you don't want to come willingly." Jacqueline frowned, getting a bit irritated by the two men's attitude. "What do you mean? Do what?" Jacqueline growled. She heard a rustle behind her and turned around just in time to see a burlap sack being pulled over her head.

_**A/N: thank you so much for the reviews! I love you so much! yay! sorry this chapter took so long but as you can see, it is longer that the others. I will always try to update within a week or so, so don't freak out if it takes almost 7 days for me to update :) please keep reading, PITCH IS COMING IN SOON ;) lots of love! keep the reviews coming!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: yay for chapter 4! here comes pitch! thank you so much for the reviews! i love them so much! i got a couple questions, also I got some constructive criticism . I will put them at the bottom**** But before I get to that, I would just like to point out that I appreciate the critic. It's always nice to have someone help correct your flaws, as long as its constructive. Also thank you for the awesome suggestions! I'll try to use a few of the ideas! So thank you again, if you have any questions I will try to answer them! Love you guys XOXOXOXO!** sorry it took so long, i've been busy with school and stuff :P so heres ch 4! I WILL TRY TO MAKE IT A REGULAR THING TO UPDATE EVEY WEEKEND. thank you and love you all! XOXOXOXXO

***DISCLAIMER: I do not own any characters except for my OC's. all credit for the other characters go to ****William Joyce**** & ****DreamWorks Animation****.***

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It was dark and cramped inside the burlap sack, as Jacqueline fought against its confines. The material was coarse and itchy causing her even more discomfort as she took a deep breath of stale, muggy air. She was beginning to feel nauseous as the bag swayed like she was being carried over someone, or something's shoulder. She heard her captors mutter to them self in what sounded like Yetish. ''_YETIES!_ _What have these aggravating, guardians dragged me into? Just wait till Valen hears about this!" _She thought. Finally realizing that it would only make her more uncomfortable to struggle, Jacqueline decided to simply wait till these brainless spirits let her out of the sack.

The idea of getting out of the bag brought on the thought of what she would do once she was free. The first thing she would do was bludgeon that over grown rodent, Bunnymund, to a pulp with her trusty parasol. She didn't care if she had to run a mile in her heels just to catch him, because once she did he would be rabbit stew. As for that frost child, she would turn him into a puddle of freshly melted snow.

Unfortunately, her revenge fantasies were cut short as the bag was tossed onto a hard cold surface. Really of all the uncouth things to do! Throwing a guest onto the floor after stuffing them it to a bag! When Jacqueline got out of the bag she would make sure that there was pure hell to pay, no one should treat her, or anyone else for that matter, in such a discourteous manner!

Realizing that the mouth of the bag was no longer being help shut, the Halloween spirit practically ripped the offending object in half. Fresh air and light came rushing to her senses but she completely ignored that and instead focused on exacting justice. Blazing golden eyes ran across her surroundings and it just so happened that the first thing they settled on was a very unfortunate Easter bunny. "You!" A feral snarl slipped through her lips as she locked eyes with her target. Aster went rigged and prepared to stand his ground as the pissed off she beast began charging up to him, parasol in hand.

However before Jacqueline had the chance to try out her rabbit stew recipe a large burly man, clearly oblivious to her aggressive demeanor, stepped in front of her, blocking her way. "WELCOME!" his voice bellowed through the room. The raven haired spirit tried to maneuver around him and tackle the rabbit who had now armed himself with his boomerangs. She was on a mission and nothing was going to stop her- that is except for a pair of strong arms wrapping around her and lifting her into a bone crushing bear hug.

" ARGH! I can't breathe! I would like to keep my spine intact please!" Jacqueline wheezed, and she could have sworn she heard a couple of ribs breaking. "HA HA! You are very funny gospozha(1)! " north laughed as he released her from his constricting embrace. Jacqueline gasped for air as it rushed to her lungs, while still trying to balance herself on her feet. Do to the lack of oxygen entering her brain, her anger subsided enough for her to take in her surroundings.

In front of her stood a huge mantle place topped with two Russian swords, around her were for huge pillars adorned with intricate patterns and designs. The long tapestries hanging from the high ceiling were decorated with cheery Christmas colors and motifs. Light was provided by two tall windows on either side of the mantle place, and dozens of round lights of various sizes hanging above their heads casting a warm glow on the items below. The entire room seemed to be like something out of a dream.

As Jacqueline slowly twirled in place taking in the surreal imagery around her, one question slithered and thrash about in her mind. Well actually one question and a comment. Turning to face jack, Bunnymund, north, and a couple of yetis, who were all watching her with mild curiosity, she spoke. "Firstly I suggest you construct a new plan for transporting your guests, your current system is quiet…" Jacqueline paused for a moment trying to think of the most polite way to put it," unpleasant." For good measure she made sure to finish with a slight sneer.

At this North let out a thundering guffaw, while jack rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "I keep telling them the same thing but they never listen." He told her sympathetically. Suddenly getting the feeling that she wasn't the only one to suffer "the bag", the Halloween spirit started to laugh. She was quickly joined by the frost spirit and the spirit of wonder, aster simply shook his head, a small smirk playing across his features. The sounds of amusement flooded the work shop as the group of spirits stood there making fools of themselves.

As the laughter started to die down Jacqueline suddenly remembered the question she had wanted to ask. Looking at the big burly Russian she decided now was as god of a time as any to get her query of her chest. "If you don't mind my asking," she began, grabbing the three guardian's attention, "why am I here? Bunnymund mentioned something earlier about being summoned by the man in the moon, has something happened?"

North's jolly demeanor seemed to sober, as he stepped forward and place a hand on Jacqueline's shoulder. "Manny has given you a job Jacqueline, a tough one but a job no less." He said solemnly, the raven haired woman quirked an eyebrow at the bearded man.

"Oh? And what kind of job did he have in mind?" she asked warily, not quite sure how she felt about being given a job that she had no knowledge about. She didn't care whether it was from Manny or not, after 300 years of silence Jacqueline was offended that he would simply ask her such a favor right out of the blue, and she had every right to be!

North removed his large hand from the Halloween spirit's shoulder and crossed his arms over his wide chest. "Manny vould like you to eh….educate, _someone,_ in da methods of harmony." The large man fumbled trying, as if it seems, to find the right words. This statement made the woman frown. She wasn't sure what it was, but the tone of the Christmas spirits voice gave her a bad feeling. Although it did make sense that she would teach someone in the ways of harmony, considering her job and all. In order to make excitement thrive in the world, there had to be the perfect balance of fear and pleasure. To say she was an expert on harmony would be an understatement.

However that wasn't what worried her. What put her nerves on edge was that north purposely tried to avoid telling her, _who exactly,_ she was being forced to teach. "Nicholas," she used his first name so that he could tell just how serious she was, "who precisely, do I have to teach?" she hissed, narrowing her now glowing eyes and the Russian.

North cleared his throat awkwardly and began, "erh, vell you remember the incident ve guardians had a few months ago, vith the threat on a new dark age and all." Jacqueline nodded hesitantly, while eyeing the bearded man suspiciously. Of course she knew about the incident where Pitch Black had tried to suck all of the hope, wonder, sweet memories, and dreams out of the children. And even though thrill and excitement were not threatened, the Halloween spirit knew that what the guardians protected were extremely important to the children. She may not be a guardian but the thought of the children suffering was heartbreaking. But why was he bringing up the confrontation with pitch, unless… Jacqueline's eyes grew huge, when a portal, as if summoned by her thoughts, appeared in the room. Three figures stepped out dragging another, wrapped in dream sand, behind them. With a dropped jaw, the raven haired woman took in the scene in front of her.

The tooth fairy, the sandman and a yeti had stepped through the glowing threshold towing along a very pissed, and very weak looking boogieman. Golden dream sand was wrapped around his arms binding them behind his back. A rope of sand was wound around his waist allowing the sandman to lead the prisoner through the portal. As he crossed the gateway Pitch lost his balance fell to one knee in front of them, head hung, hiding his face from view.

_Could this truly be the feared nightmare king, _Jacqueline thought while she watched with pity, as the seemingly frail man crumble and kneeled in front of his enemies. Then Pitch made a move and raised his head, allowing the acupants of the room to see his expression. Jacqueline's breath caught in her throat and she could have sworn that her heart skipped a beat. From under Pitches brow two pale golden eyes gleamed dangerously, as he pulled his thin lips back in an animalistic snarl. The lean muscles in his shoulders and back seamed to coil, as if he were ready to pounce at any given seconded.

"Tooth, Sandy! My friends you vere quicker than I thought surely he did not surrender that easily?" North inquired. Toothiana looked at the Christmas spirit triumphantly, "well it seems he's still weak from the battle, he hasn't regained his powers yet…" the tooth fairy continued, but Jacqueline zoned out before she could hear anymore. Instead she was completely focused on the dark spirit in front of her, utterly entranced by his golden gaze.

Valen had once told Jacqueline about the boogieman and his many traits and charms, but never had she imagined someone like the man before her. While the valentine spirit had described him as a hideous monster, warped by fear and terror, the man in front of her was anything but that. True, while his looks weren't conventional, he still had a certain fascinating appeal. Even when he was crouching, Jacqueline could tell he was tall as well as trim. His wild black hair was slicked back extenuating his high cheek bones and thin face, and she suddenly had the urge to run her figure through his raven locks. his pale skin and black coat only made his blazing eyes seem brighter, enough so to make Jacqueline feel as if she might melt under that very gaze.

"….isn't that right Jacqueline!" Jacks voice broke through her adoring trance, as North patted her shoulder. She hadn't heard a thing he had said before that and instead of answering him, she gave him a blank stare, "huh, pardon me?" Jack looked a bit surprised to find that she hadn't been listening to any part of the conversation that had just taken place. "Your mission from Manny, remember? Your job is to teach Pitch how to harmonize dark and light." The frost spirit finished.

Suddenly a sarcastic laugh filled the room, echoing off the walls and causing Jacqueline's spine to tingle. Her heart raced as her eyes wandered over to where Pitche's lithe figure now stood. With a cool and smooth voice the apparition spoke, "Are you kidding me? That air headed, wench is supposed to teach me? HA! well that's just rich!" pitch said with a sadistic grin.

Okay, scratch that, this guy was a complete and total jerk. Jacqueline felt her temper flare, as her entire initial view of Pitch was shattered. _What had I seen in this brute,_ she thought while looking into his putrid yellow eyes. Not being the type to simply sit back and take an insult the Halloween spirit let her sharp tongue loose. "Oh and I'm just as thrilled to be teaching a bigoted pig. Maybe during one of our lessons I could teach you how to throw yourself off a cliff. It'll be fun! Especially when you hit the bottom!" she bit back at the boogieman.

Pitch's eyes widened just a fraction, before narrowing into two furious slits. Pitch took a step closer and glared down his nose at her, and as he spoke Jacqueline could practically feel his burning breath. "Why you impudent little-" but before he could finish his insult Bunnymund stepped between them, interrupting their little stare off, seeing as Jacqueline was too stubborn to back down. "okay you two, Manny brought you here to work together, not to bite each other's heads off!" he butt-in while he pushed them apart.

"Ha! If you think for one second that I would teach a vulgar beast like him, then you are dead wrong!" she said tenaciously, crossing her thin arms over her bosom. Pitch in turn followed with his own remark, "And if you dim-witted guardians think that I would simply go along with this foolish plan, then you must be even more stupid that I thought!" he said as he straightened his back haughtily.

North let out an exasperated sigh as he used one hand to rub his face, "I vas I afraid dis vould happen," He heaved. However both the spirits were so preoccupied with their little quarrel that they didn't hear the burly man. North looked at them both then shook his head, "look here!" he shouted, "both of you must vork together or there vill be consequences!" he pointed a fat finger at the pair." Jacqueline looked at him warily, while pitch snorted "consequences, and what would you do? Chase me down with Rudolph the red nosed reindeer?"

North growled at his mockery, "no much vorse, if you do not comply that you vill be locked away forever. Vhich means no more bad dreams to the children, and no more bad dreams means no more Pitch Black." He warned, as pitch's eyes became wide and he grew even paler than before, if that was possible.

"And you," he pointed at a stunned Jacqueline, "you may not be a guardian, but would you really be willing to put the children through another dark age?" the Halloween spirit frowned, "of course not!" she exclaimed. Just the thought of the children's pain made Jacqueline's chest feel hollow. She looked over at Pitch and frowned. It would be hard, but she could persevere, if only to protect the children. Looking at North she nodded, "okay, I'll do it." She confirmed. Pitch's head whipped around so fast Jacqueline thought his cranium might fly off. "What?! You have got to be kidding me!" he roared.

Jacqueline had no doubt in her mind that if Pitch hadn't been bound by dream sand, he would have strangled her. North quickly stepped in, putting a wall between her and pitch's rage. "You have made the right choice," North said, putting his hand on her shoulder. She nodded, but said nothing. The Christmas spirit turned to pitch, his eyes hardening, "now you must choose, change your vays of face imprisonment." Pitch was obviously upset, if his clenched jaw was any signs. Hatred burned in his eyes as he scowled at the burly man. The tension that filled the air was extremely thick, as they stood nose to nose. Then his resolve began to break, and he heaved a sigh. Pitch was cornered, and he knew it. "Fine, I will do it but, don't go thinking that this changes anything."

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Jacqueline groaned as she collapsed on the sofa in her parlor. _How could my life turn so far upside down in such a short time?!_ She mentally seethed to herself. She shifted irritably, trying with no avail, to get comfortable. Why did this have to happen today of all days? The one time she took a day off to relax, and now it was completely ruined! The Halloween spirit sighed and ran her hands through her orange tipped, raven tresses, as she remembered the events that had taken place after Pitch's agreement.

North had looked utterly shocked at the nightmare king's statement, he cleared his throat and began, "Ahum, vell den ve must make arrangements for a schedule for dese uhhh…lessons". He had been expecting more of a conflict. Prison threat or not Pitch Black never gave up without a fight. The Christmas spirit narrowed his eyes at the dark figure in front of him. He was up to something and North knew it, he could feel it in his gut. A quick glance to the side only supported his suspicions. The rest of the guardians stood there with mixtures of shock and disbelief, clearly painted onto their faces.

Pitch sneered at what the large Russian's comment, "Arrangements? What is that supposed to mean?!" the apparition spat. North frowned, "Vell ve have to agree on a meeting place vhere Jacqueline can teach you, and what time it vill all occur." Jacqueline scowled at that, she hadn't thought about that at all. Where would they go to have their lesson, and how often would they have to meet? Suddenly another thought struck her, would they be alone during the lessons? Just the thought of being alone in the same room as the nightmare king sent shivers down her spine, although at the time she wasn't sure if they were good or bad. She couldn't stand his arrogant smirk, and the glint in his eyes made her on edge like nothing else she had encountered before. Yet there was still something about him that intrigued her and seemed to pull her in and caused her senses to tingle in the strangest of ways.

Tooth flitted over to the Halloween spirit and looked at her thoughtfully, "Well Jacqueline I know we haven't been properly introduce, I'm Toothiana, but you can call me Tooth." She said, while smiling brightly and pulling her into a light hug. While Jacqueline stood there stiffly she returned the smile in whole, appreciating the fact that the tooth fairy had been the first to formally introduce herself to the dark haired spirit. Even though the gesture was small it meant a lot to Jacqueline, seeing as she hadn't met many other spirits before, and it gave her something stable in this entire overwhelming ordeal. "I was thinking," Tooth continued as she pulled away, "Since you are the one who has to teach him why don't you pick a time and place?" the fairy asked.

Jacqueline's brows furrowed as she thought about it, this wasn't a decision to take lightly. She briefly though about hosting the lessons here at the pole, but realized that it would be much too distracting to have yetis stomping around, and tiny annoying elves constantly nosing about. Not to mention she had barely known the guardians for less than an hour, much of that time she had spent in a sack. She didn't want to intrude on North's busy schedule.

Then a thought hit her, why not have the lessons at Shadow Manor? It was her territory, where she felt most comfortable. And if pitch tried anything, she had an entire arsenal of booby traps that she could use to her advantage. Not to mention her familiarity with the huge manor itself. It was quite easy for someone who was not acquainted with the structure, to get lost in its many winding hall ways. Jacqueline smiled to herself, it was decided. She would teach Pitch at Shadow Manor.

Now all she needed to do was decided a time. She didn't want to spend any more time than what was necessary with Pitch, but she did have to teach him often enough to keep the guardians and Manny off her back. Maybe twice a month would be enough, she thought. Nodding slightly she looked up to meet the magenta eyes of Tooth, who had been waiting there patiently for the Halloween spirit's answer. Jacqueline's eyes traveled towards the other guardians who had also been waiting for her answer. Then her golden eyes fell upon Pitch's gaze. Jacqueline nearly gasped out loud when she saw the burning intensity of his stare. His eyes where full of resentment, no doubt towards everyone in the room, defiance, meaning no matter what she decided he was going to make it difficult. And something else, something that she couldn't place, but somehow still got her to feel like she was melting under his watch.

"Jacqueline?" A voice cut through the haze, she met Tooth's concerned eyes. "Are you feeling alright?" the colorful feathered woman asked. Not trusting her voice yet Jacqueline simply nodded. What was that? She wondered silently to herself. Glancing quickly back to pitch she was relieved to see he was now in a glaring match with Bunny and was no longer focused on her. "So Jacquie," Tooth smiled, "Have you decided when and where the lessons will be held?" Jacqueline nodded up at the smiling fairy, "Yes, I would like to hold them at my manor; maybe once every other week. Does that sound all right?" She said confidently.

North stepped forward at this scratching his beard thoughtfully. "Hmm, yes. Yes, but does this give you enough time to teach completely him by the end of the deadline?" he inquired. The Halloween spirit froze, "Deadline? What deadline?" she asked warily. North looked at her in confusion, then suddenly smacked his head, as if suddenly remembering something. Letting out a hardy laugh he began. "Oh, ho, ho! How could I forget to tell you! I knew dat I vas getting old but I didn't tink I vas dat bad! You see my friend; Manny has given you a time limit to teach Pitch! One year from today actually!" he let out another bellow, as if it were the funniest thing in the world. It wasn't funny however for the poor Halloween spirit.

Jacqueline stood there gaping at the laughing spirit, as Tooth began to scold him. A YEAR! ONE MEASLY YEAR! Her mind was in frenzy, as she stood there shocked. They were talking about Pitch Black, the nightmare king, the very embodiment of darkness, the man who had been spreading fear across the world since before the man in moon was even born! And they were giving her twelve, short, months to undo over a millenniums' worth of darkness! This was ridiculous! No, it was more than ridiculous, it was insane, impossible!

Suddenly it felt like all of the fight had been sucked out of her, she felt deflated and exhausted. She used her pale fingers to massage small, circles into her temples. "Then that means we will have to meet more often I suppose." she hissed through clenched teeth, "How does every other day sound…?" she continued, while trying to stay calm. She refused she meet any more time with the insufferably man, at least this way she would get a day to rest between each session. North spread his arms wide, almost smacking Jack in the head. Luckily the frost spirit was able to duck out of the way before he was decapitated. "Chudesnyy(4)! Lessons can start tomorrow! Ah this is fantastic!" he cheered, as he threw an arm around Jacqueline almost causing her to fall, "We are counting on you Jacquie!"

With one last laugh North gathered the other guardians and began a quiet discussion on the other side of the room, leaving Jacqueline alone with Pitch and his two yeti guards. The Halloween spirit sighed as she rolled her shoulders in an attempt to loosen the tension building in her neck. That's when she felt it, that familiar burning sensation on the back of her head. He was watching her again; although she couldn't see him she knew she was correct. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and slowly began to turn around towards the source of the intense stare. As she looked over her shoulder her heart skipped a beat and her breath became trapped in her throat.

Pitch was watching her with the same smoldering gaze as he had been before. And as before that mysterious emotion lingered in his pale eyes. Eyes that reminded Jacqueline of an eclipse, like there was something light trying to escape a dark cell. The two yetis in charge of guarding Pitch seemed oblivious to tension passing between the two spirits. Too busy having a conversation in yetish to notice as pitch took a step towards the Halloween spirit. However contrary to the yetis' calmness, Jacqueline felt as if she were having a sensory over load.

Pitch stood less than a foot away from the stiff Halloween spirit. So close that she could feel his hot breath tickle the back of her neck, traveling across her skin like a thousand tiny fingers. Her heart raced and slammed against her rib cage, and the familiar sensation of an adrenalin rush, flooded through her system. Pitch could practically smell the waves of fear that rolled off of the raven haired woman. A vampire like smile spread across the nightmare king's features as he leaned in over her shoulder. His face was less than inch away, eyes locked with Jacqueline. "Don't think that this is going to be easy sweetheart." His voice dripping with faux charm. The Halloween spirit bit her lip and turned her head, her bangs falling over her eyes hiding them from his view. "Because I plan to make this as difficult as possible for you." Pitch finished with a wicked grin.

What happened next not only shocked the boogieman but also, not that he would ever admit it, caused his cold heart to beat a bit quicker. As Pitch begun to lean back, Jacqueline whipped her head around, eyes locking with his. Pitch's breath caught in his throat, as he looked at the woman in front of him. Her wild black hair seemed to flair out around her head and shoulders, although the smell of fear still hung around her, another emotion seemed to blend in around it. Excitement, Pitch realized, she was excited, but why? A wide grin stretched across her cheeks and her eyes glowed like two condensed super novas, casting a dazzling light upon her features. All together she was stunning, not that he would ever tell her. But that wasn't even the most shocking part, what stunned Pitch the most was what she said next. Jacqueline leaned in close locking eyes with the nightmare king. Eyes that both blinded and drew the dark spirit in. Her grin grew even further and four simple words exited mischievous lips, four words that would start the game between the two apparitions. "Bring it on, Pitch."And with that the mistress of fright turned and walked away, sending a tiny wave towards the gapping boogieman over her shoulder.

"Mistress Jacquie?" A pair of young voices broke Jacqueline out of her reminiscence. Reluctantly she opened his eyes, not remembering closing them in first place. Her eyes searched for a moment before resting on a pair of bat winged children. Trick and Treat looked down at her curiously as they balanced on the back of the sofa that Jacqueline was currently laying on. _I must have fallen asleep,_ she thought hazily.

A small part of her was a bit irritated at the two children for waking her. After all she had wanted to take the day off to rest, and had yet to get the chance. But the larger part of her intuition saw reason, she had been missing for at least an hour or two, and she had told them she would only be taking a short walk. The two siblings were probably worried, so she had no reason to be irritated at them. Wearily she pulled herself into a sitting position, and stretched her arms above her head. While the seat was generally comfy it served as a poor bed.

Looking back at the pair the Halloween spirit smiled, "Sorry about that you two, I hope I didn't worry you too much. I had some urgent business to attend to." Treat frowned and crawled into Jacqueline's lap. "When you didn't come back from your walk we got worried. We went looking for you, mistress, but we couldn't find you anywhere!" She looked up at Jacqueline face with two big orange eyes. Trick nodded in agreement with his sister, joining her in the Halloween spirit's lap. "Where'd you go? You weren't anywhere on the grounds!" He exclaimed. Jacqueline smiled softly down at the two kids, placing her hands on their head gently. "I'm sorry I worried you, but I promise it was very important." She tried to explain, as she looked down at the two little imps. They both frowned, obviously not happy with her response, and wanting further elaboration.

Jacqueline sighed in defeat, "I've been given a job from the Man in the Moon, and the guardians." She elucidated to the two children. They both gasped, and looked at her in awe. Trick fidgeted around excitedly, "Well what did they want?! Did you meet Jack Frost?!" Jacqueline chuckled, it was no secret that Trick admired jack and his pranks to an almost obsessive point. Every time Jacqueline would return from tea with Valen, the well known gossip of the spirits, Trick would always ask if she had heard of any news about the frost spirit. His favorite topic was Jacks varies pranks what with them both being tricksters."Yes I did meet, jack. He seemed like a pretty cool guy." Jacqueline giggled at her bad pun as Trick practically exploded due to excitement, and treat rolled her eyes and groaned.

After calming the hyperactive boy down and answering a few questions about the frost teen, Jacqueline continued, "As for what they wanted, we will be having a, um … guest. The guardians need me to teach our guest about the balance it takes to make Halloween." Both the children gawked at their mistress in utter shock. Trick and Treat were both well aware of her reasons for creating them, and her lonely beginnings as a spirit. Until today, Miss Valen Tiamorie and themselves were the only spirits to ever talk to mistress Jacquie since she inherited the role of Halloween spirit and guardian of excitement.

Now not only had she met the guardians of childhood, but suddenly they were welcoming a guest into the manor! Since both the imps had been created by an extraction of Jacqueline's soul they both understood just how monumental this developement was in their mistress' eyes. They could sense her fear, and uncertainty, but most of all her anticipation. After spending so long in such a closed off and isolated state Jacqueline was unsure how to handle such a situation. It all seemed so over whelming, and Jacqueline had no idea where to start sorting out the mess. But still through all the haze of fear and uncertainty, there was excitement. This was because she knew what this meant, she knew the importance of the impact that this event had on her life. This meant that the glass that isolated her from the rest of the world had been finally shattered. This was a chance at a new beginning and there was no way she was going to let it slip away.

Still the entire ordeal made Jacqueline feel unbalanced. Looking down at the two wide eyed children in her lap Jacqueline decided what she needed to do. "How about you two clean up the manor, and prepare for our guest tomorrow. I'm going to visit Miss Valen; I promise I won't be long this time." She informed the little children. Both the imps exchanged glances, reluctant to let their mistress go again, after having just got her back. However they both gave her a slight nod and clambered off her lap and to the floor. They both then scampered down the hall to begin preparations for their "honored" guest, the likes of who they still knew nothing about.

Jacqueline sighed as she watched them run along, then stood and dusted herself off. Picking up her parasol she began walking out of the parlor and out onto the terrace. Just like before she ambled down the steps that lead to the gardens, however this time she had no intentions of heading towards the rose gardens. Instead she walked alongside the outer manor walls following a small cobble stone path. As she walked her heels clicked and echoed, as the manor loomed above her. Finally the stone path ended at the edge of the forest that surrounded Shadow Manor. From there Jacqueline followed a poorly worn path that was littered with under growth and gnarled roots. Using her parasol she batted the debris out of her path and traveled along with little resistance.

Although the path was not well worn, Jacqueline knew it like the back of her hand. This was because the path lead to her own personal pumpkin patch, however these pumpkins were far from ordinary. In order to meet with Valen she would first have to travel to her Temple in the Clouds, which resided over modern day Greece. However if she were take her flying jack o' lantern, the flight alone would take three hours, and she had promised Trick and Treat that she wouldn't take long. So she would have to take an alternate means of travel, one that could be found in her pumpkin patch.

Eventually the trees surrounding her began to thin out, and she knew she was almost to her destination. After a few more yards the trees opened up, revealing a small shaded clearing. Above her head a flock of ravens cawed, there harsh voices echoing in the otherwise empty forest. Despite the fact that the birds were not magical in any way, they were the keepers of her pumpkin patch. In the case of an intruder they could distract trespasser by attacking them while another bird flew away to find the Halloween spirit and warn her. Jacqueline smiled up at her feathered friends high up, within the twisted branches of the trees. "Hello there, just passing through, won't be long." She informed the glossy black birds. The flock simply let out another chorus of screeches and watched her progress with beady eyes that shone down upon her.

Jacqueline walked into the patch carefully stepping over thick vines and foliage. The clearing was filled with huge orange pumpkins, each large enough to fit a child in it, and each carved with some kind of design. They were all filled with a mysterious light, although no candles were present. The lights where dim as they sat there surrounded by roots and vines, but as the Mistress of Fright walked past, they seemed to glow a bit brighter than before. Every jack o' lantern had been carved by Jacqueline herself, each with a unique design.

Now you must be wondering why the raven haired spirit had come to a pumpkin patch when she was trying to get to Greece. The answer to that is simple, as it was said before these were no ordinary pumpkins. Each one had been enchanted and transformed into a portal; every carving represented a different destination. Over the past hundred years or so Jacqueline had composed quite a collection, ranging from New York all the way to Nigeria. However she preferred to take her airborne jack o' lantern do to the fact it was much more exciting when she was flying thousands of feet off the ground.

Finally coming to a stop, Jacqueline stood in front of a jack o' lantern with an intricate picture carved into its surface. The carving depicted beautifully hearts made out of dozens of little swirls, all connected through a web that ran across the orange exterior. Smiling Jacqueline raised her parasol and used it to give a quick tap to the pumpkin's stem. The light from within the jack o' lantern glowed even brighter than before and suddenly the colors of the lights began to change, slowly at first then more rapidly. First to a bright gold, then to a florescent violet, next to neon green. Other hues such as blue and pink also appeared in the glow as the lights continued to rabidly flash and change, like a demented strobe light. Wind rushed across the glade, howling in the trees as the pumpkin began to grow, tripling in size. The design on its front also grew, until it was finally wide enough for the Halloween spirit to fit through. The lights reflected in Jacqueline's golden eyes, as she gave one last smile, and stepped through the threshold. In a huge flash of light and a sudden thundering boom, the raven haired woman and bizarre glowing vegetable were gone. And with the sudden departure it Left behind a deathly silence and an unnatural calm.

* * *

**a/n: **

**question 1_: How old is she physically?_ : physically Jacqueline is in her mid to late 20's, so 25-27.**

**question 2: _why O'lenturn?: _its a play on words, Jacqueline O'Lenturn is the female version of a jack o' lanturn, get it? haha (ya i know it's lame)**

**btw "gospozha" means woman in russian.**

**1. So the first order of business: "all hallows eve" vs. "Halloween." I understand that it was more common to use "all hallows eve" or "all saints day" back in the day but the term "Halloween " was introduced in the late 1500's by the Celtic people of Scotland and Ireland, and since Jacqueline died in the late 1600's so I thought it would be exceptiable, sorry for the confusion. I should have explained that better :P**

**2. Next: Jacqueline's outfit. Yes Jacqueline's clothing do change after she dies. At first she was basically wearing simple peasant garb but after she died she changed into a "costume". I understand that her current "spirit attire" is not appropriate for the 1600's, but I allowed myself a little artistic freedom plus many of the other guardian's clothing are not appropriate for their time frames either. Again sorry for not explaining, I will try to be better at that in the foot notes. **

**3. As to the question to what ethnicity Jacqueline is. Between the mid 1300's & the early 1700's Scotland made varies alliances with first France then England during times of war and the times of tension between wars. During this time there was a lot of mixing of cultures and colonies. Jacqueline lived in England when she died, her mother was English, and her dad was French and Scottish.**

**She has a slight British accent but only just barely. After being exposed to all the worlds different cultures over the past hundred years, her accent has faded. Sometimes when she's angry and starts yelling she loses her accent completely. **

**4. "****chudesnyy" means "wonderful" in Russian****.**

**Anyways, thank you for the awesome reviews! Keep them coming! Love you all! XOXOXOXOXO **

**also thanks to Movillishion, InkAngelXIII, riotxxundertaker, LuluCalliope, and all the Guests!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay so I'm just going to warn you guys this chapter is going to be a bit short! Sorry! If you want to know why, there are two reasons for that.**

**We had testing all week at my school and I had to do a bunch of studying!**

**My cousins' birthday was this weekend! Happy birthday Oli! (****OliverUndead69)**

**So again sorry! But I promise to make the next chapter extra long! At first I was thinking about not posting anything at all, but then I remembered that I promised to update every weekend. Also thank you to everyone who reviewed (InkAngelXIII, riotxxundertaker, Noface, Frost, G1RL 0N F1R3, AnonymousAngel, and all the Guests.) Also, awesome suggestions for Jacqueline's powers! So all though it's short, it's better than nothing. Please bear with me! Luvs ya! XOXOXO**

*DISCLAIMER: I do not own any characters except for my OC's. All credit for the other characters goes to William Joyce & DreamWorks Animation.*

A giant jack o lantern appeared in Valen's parlor in a flurry and technicolor light and an explosion of uncontrollable wind. The object in question seemed to materialize out of nowhere. As the light and chaos settled a dark figure stepped out of the pumpkins shell, and onto the plush white rug that carpeted the valentine spirits' living room.

Valen Tiamore had, just until a moment ago, been enjoying her afternoon tea as she sat on a divan. As she sat she had been enjoying the sun's rays through one of the many open windows in her parlor. Now suddenly there was a giant pumpkin in front of her, although she knew from experience that the giant rotund object would shrink back down to size the moment the mysterious figure snapped its fingers. This was because the figure under discussion was actually in fact, Jacqueline O'lenturn, the spirit of Halloween, and one of Valen's closest friends.

As Jacqueline stepped through the portal she squinted at the well lit room. Opening her parasol she positioned it in front of herself in hopes of blocking some of the harsh light. Valen let out a light titter, knowing that Jacqueline had never been one for bright light, which was funny seeing as Valen loved dazzling lights. In fact logically Valen and Jacqueline weren't even supposed to get along, but here they were close friends and confidents. With a snap of the valentine spirits' nimble fingers, gossamer drapes appeared on the windows, fluttering lightly before completely settling to block most of the inconsiderate beams. While long curtains obstructed most of the day light, their filmy material allowed so of the light to filter in, leaving the room dim but still well lit.

The Halloween spirit lowered her parasol, and looked at Valen, "thank you, that's much better." She smiled gratefully. Raising her left hand she gave a sharp snap and the jack 'o lantern shrank back down to its original size. Valen smiled back, "not a problem, so please sit! Now, what do I have to thank for the sudden visit? It been quite some time since we last had tea together. And not to sound upset," she looked curiously at the dark spirit," but you usually send a notice before you come over. What's with the surprise?"

Jacqueline groaned as she plopped down on a lavish white seat that was directly across from Valen. Between them stood an elegant glass table, which consisted of an oval shaped slab of glass that was supported by an intricate bronze frame, which sported beautiful carvings engraved into its frame work. While she leaned back, Jacqueline could see Valen cock her head at her behavior. "Is something the matter?" the spirit of love inquired.

The raven haired spirit let out a sigh, "it's a bit of a long story. I'm sorry I haven't visited lately; I've just been so busy lately. I'm also sorry I didn't tell you before I came here, I don't mean to intrude. It's just that something has happened, and I just really needed someone to talk to." She said awkwardly as she twirled her orange tips between her fingers. Valen looked at her sympathetically, knowing full well the lonely situation surrounding the Halloween spirit.

"Well then since it sound like this might take some time how about I order so snacks and tea?" she asked. Jacqueline grinned and nodded, "yes that sounds wonderful!" Valen snapped her fingers once more, summoning a small cherub as it flew into the room. Valen looked up at the creature. "Tea please, and bread and brie," she looked over to where Jacqueline sat, "is there anything else you'd like?"

The mistress of fright thought for a moment before nodding, "Yes, perhaps some jam to go along with the bread, and something sweet, maybe chocolate." She finished. The cherub gave a firm nod before flitting out of the room to fetch the refreshments. Turning back to Valen, Jacqueline looked at the love spirit. "I'm guessing you want to hear my story now." She said hesitantly.

A huge grin spread across Valen's face, "well of course! I want all the details! It must be something big if you came here so suddenly!"She exclaimed, showing off exactly how she earned the nick name, "_the gossip of spirits"_.

Hesitantly Jacqueline began, "well you see I've met-"but was suddenly cut off by a surprised gasp from Valen. "You met someone!? You never meet other spirits! Do I know them? When did this happen?! Who are they?! What happened?! Did you get along?! Where did you meet?! How did you meet?! Oh dear, Jacquie! You can't just leave me in the dark! Tell me the detail-"Jacqueline cut her off by leaning across the glass table and placing a pale hand over the babbling spirits mouth.

"Val, breathe…." She dead panned, "just calm down a moment, would you? I could tell you all you want to know if you simply gave me the chance." Valen gave a wide eyed nod as the Halloween spirit removed her hand. just then the cherub flew in, gently placing a tray containing, a kettle full of boiling water, sugar, two tea cups, two tea-bags, and a pair of spoons, along with a small plate of brie, jam, and bread. Turning to Jacqueline the winged creature placed a small crystal bowl in front of her before flying off again. In the bowl there were a dozen or so, little hearts wrapped in golden foil.

Picking up one of the cups, Jacqueline began to prepare her tea. giving a weary sigh, the Halloween spirit added some sugar to her cup, before starting where she left off," as I was saying I wet some spirits today, you most likely know them, in fact I would be surprised if you could find a spirit who didn't know them." Valen remained quiet, but gave Jacqueline a curious look.

The raven haired spirit paused to take a sip of her tea, before continuing," I was summoned by the guardians today. They need me to help them with something." Valen gasped placing a hand over her breast," they need your help! Do you realize how monumental this is?" she asked the Halloween spirit. Jacqueline gave a silent nod before allowing Valen to continue, "heavens what in the world could they need? They just finished saving the world a few months ago! What could be the matter now?" she gawked at the quiet spirit in front of her. A scowl made its way onto Jacqueline's face, "they need me to teach someone, someone who happens to be a downright brute." The Halloween spirit growled.

Jacqueline explained what had happened, from the very beginning, which included being shoved in a sack, to the end, that featured her "_chat_" with Pitch Black. Valens reactions had been all over the chart, ranging from anger, to shock, and even a bit of amusement. The valentine spirit also agreed that a shoving a guest in a sack was a horrible way to invite them into ones home.

Jacqueline was currently absorbed in a rant about how horrible Pitch was, "you wouldn't believe how rude he was! I swear it was like he hated me before he even gave me a chance to talk!" she said, remembering how he had called her an _"air headed wench"_of all things. "And he treated me like a piece of trash! It's hard to imagine anyone any more beastly! And if I-" she suddenly came to a stop as she heard the spirit of love giggling. Narrowing her eyes at Valen, the Halloween spirit frowned, "whets so funny?"

Valen placed a hand over her mouth in hopes of containing her laughter, "well you see it's just that, while trying to convince me of how beastly he is, you seem to be trying to convince yourself even more. Most likely because you feel attracted to him." she finished with a laugh. Jacqueline blanched at the valentine spirits comment, "that's ridiculous!"

Valen simply rolled her eyes at the Halloween spirit before continuing her observations. "Say what you like my dear, but I've seen this over a thousand times, I am after all the spirit of love. you are simply rejecting your attraction, you're in denial." pure shock was evident on the Halloween spirits face, as she gagged at the thought of being attracted to a brute like pitch black.

"th-tha-" she tried to speak but was to taken aback by the love spirits accusation, she had a hard time forming words. "th-thats not possible!" her voice rose an octave, "I resent the insinuation! There is nothing I could possible she in _that man_!" she exclaimed as she felt her temper rise as well. Eyes glowing hot gold, Jacqueline shot out of her seat and continued to rant. "A beast like him would never be worth my time! It's like he was born evil! Hell, he is the embodiment of fear so I guess close enough!

Valen sighed, the Halloween spirits rant was only further proving her point, even if she didn't realize it. Frowning up at the dark haired spirit, Valen realized that it would be easier to simply concede and allow Jacqueline to believe she had won. "All right, all right, calm down! I was joking. Of course you don't like pitch, now sit down before you knock something over." she said waving her hand at the angry spirit.

With an unsatisfied huff Jacqueline plopped back down onto the seat. She knew that Valen had just let her win so that she would calm down. In fact she did it every time they had a disagreement. Furthermore, where did Valen get off making such improbable accusations? It was ridiculous who did she think she was! _"Well she is the spirit of love…" _a small voice echoed from the back of her mind. "_Oh, put a sock in it!"_ she mentally snapped back. Suddenly her eyes widened. "_Oh, great," _she thought, "_now I'm arguing with myself! I must be going mad!" _With a silent sigh the Halloween spirit turned her attention back to her friend, only to realize the solemn mood that surrounded her.

Valen had her tea gently cupped in her hands, frozen midway to her mouth. With furrowed brow and a faraway look, she gazed into the drink. The spirits lips formed a thin line that cut across her normally affectionate features. Jacqueline frowned at her friend, "Valen, is everything all right? You look a bit...down." she finished uncertainly.

Valen looked up from her tea and gave a sad smile, "yes I'm fine, I was just thinking about what you said about him being evil and all. You have to admit it's a rather sad story, don't you agree?" she stated in a somber tone. Jacqueline suddenly felt uncomfortable under the other spirits expectant gaze.

"Um... what story do you mean?" she asked in a confused manner. Valen's eyes nearly fell out of her sockets as she gawked at Jacqueline. "You mean you don't know!?" she exclaimed. "My god, Jacqueline! You mean to tell me that you agreed to train Pitch Black, the Boogie man, without any knowledge of the man what so ever!?"

Jacqueline frowned at the valentine spirit's tone. "Well in my defense I just met the man today, and I didn't really have much of a choice…" she stated indignantly, jutting her chin out in a stubborn fashion. "Besides I've heard many stories in my life time, and I doubt there's one that could make me change my mind about Pitch Black." She spat out his name like it were a foul taste, and with that crossed her arms over her chest firmly.

Valen's eyes became hard and her demeanor sobered. "That may be true for the moment, however the story I'm talking about is not one that can soon be forgotten." She said in an unnaturally calm tone. Jacqueline froze as a shiver suddenly raced up her spine. What did Valen mean by _not soon to be forgotten_? The cryptic message had stolen the Halloween spirits full attention, and leaving with a cold and hollow feeling. A mysterious sense of naivety washed over the Halloween spirit, and she found herself craving for the knowledge that valentine spirit had to offer.

"What story are you talking about?" she asked nervously. Valen gave her a hard look," are you sure you want to know? Stories you hear, never quite leave you. Sometimes you'll forget precisely what happened, but if a story touches you it will stay with you, haunting the places in your mind that you rarely ever visit." She said solemnly. Swallowing the lump in her throat Jacqueline gave a solid nod of confirmation.

Valen took a deep breath and shifted in her seat, "the story is about a man named formally known, as Kozmotis Pitchiner." She began. "Before Pitch became the Nightmare King, he was once a hero of the Golden Age named Kozmotis Pitchiner. He had led the Golden Armies in capturing the Fearlings and their ilk. He was the best of the best, and brave to the very last. All over the universe people knew of him and his courageous deeds." she said, turning her head to stare at the curtains, which fluttered gently in the breeze.

"His demise began when had volunteered to guard the prison planet where the nightmares had been imprisoned in. he did it to keep people safe, he did it even when he knew the risks. He kept vigil for years, forced to listen to the prisoners' constant whispering and pleading. Every night they would whisper terrors in is ear, driving him to the brink of insanity." The valentine spirit's gaze suddenly became troubled and cheerless, "His only solace was thinking of his daughter, of whom he kept a photograph of in a locket. But one day, sensing his weakness, the prisoners imitated her voice and tricked Kozmotis to believe she was being held inside with them." Turning her head she locked eyes with the Halloween spirit, "Frantic, to save the one person he loved most, he opened the doors to release her, but was instead ambushed and possessed by thousands of Fearlings, transforming him into Pitch Black, the Nightmare King."

Jacqueline froze, and let the information sink in. a rush of emotions flooded through her system. Confusion because of the vast contrast between the two men who seemed to share the same body, anger for what the Fearlings had done, and sorrow for the lose and suffering of Kozmotis and his daughter. The Halloween spirit had not been expecting Valen to continue, thinking that the sad story ended there. But instead she was surprised when the valentine spirit began to speak again.

"His mind and heart had been so twisted with thoughts of darkness; he was no longer himself but simply a shell of the man he once was, filled with shadows and hatred. Due to his newfound darkness, he sought to destroy the Golden Age by turning all good dreams into nightmares. He plundered planets, extinguished stars and stole every dream he came across, leaving only misery and despair in his wake. He hungered for children's dreams the most, since they were pure of heart, reminding him of the innocence and light he had once possessed." Closing her eyes and taking a steady breath to calm herself, Valen let the heavy silence settle before continuing.

Looking up at Jacqueline, both the spirits could feel the anguish and sympathy well within their hearts. "So now you see, there is more than meets the eye to Pitch Black. Even though these events took place long before my time, the pain and loss is still fresh."

Nodding silently, Jacqueline fought to beat the sudden emptiness that emerged in her chest, and swallowed the painful lump in her throat. "I see now, that you words of warning weren't just for show" she was able choked out. "I ... I'm not quite sure what to say to this…"

Valen nodded, and finally realized that maybe her friend had not been ready for such heartbreaking information. "You don't have to say anything, or do anything for that matter either. Let's just finish our tea…" she said quietly. As they drank and finished their food, they didn't say anything. Instead they were both absorbed in there dismal thoughts of a great hero meeting an undeserved end.

After tea, Jacqueline and Valen both exchange their good-byes and shared a long hug, finding solace in each other embrace. As she turned around to step through her portal home, a thought suddenly struck Jacqueline. Pausing in front of the threshold she looked over her shoulder at the valentine spirit.

"I think… I finally understand why the man in the moon wants me to teach pitch the balance of light and dark. He knows that there is no way to completely rid the world of Pitch Black; otherwise the world would fall in to chaos and disorder. But at the same time the world needs someone like Kozmotis Pitchiner around to give it Light Within the Darkness."

Valen gave a thoughtful smile, "I couldn't have picked a better person than you to revive the golden hero." and with that the Halloween spirit stepped through the glowing portal and was zapped back to Shadow Manor, to prepare for her new journey.

**A/N: so i found out some cool trivia! pitch, sandy, and jack are the only spirits out of all the characters. Bunny is a time traveling alien, and the last of his kind (can anyone say " Doctor Who!" 3) tooth used to be a princess, and north is the only human of the group, he just has awesome magical powers that let him live for a long time. also i got all of the background info on pitch out of the books "Gaurdians Of Childhood". So thanks for reading! And thanks for the reviews! KEEP'EM COMMING! love you guys and keep reading! XOXOXOXOXOXO**


	5. Ch 5 POEM

**A/N: This chapter used to be an author's note and song challenge, but due to Rules/Guidelines I decided to remove it.**

**Don't worry it had little to no importance in the story, but in order to keep the flow of the story and still follow the rules I will post a short poem, it was kind of meant for Pitch Black, and his background story.**

** You can interpret it as you like… ya it might suck…sorry…you can skip it if you want. Thanks for reading up to this point! XOXOXO!**

**It goes by syllables, 13, 8, 5, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13….so on so forth.**

* * *

There's a dark imaginary demon in my head

Whispering little lies in my ears

Little angel girl

Hold my hand

Daughter

Hide

They

Come

The nightmares

I'll save you

Say that you're okay

Always shine you're light, remember me

Shine in the dark, chase away the demons, little angel girl.

My memories fade, but not you

I'd do it again

To save you

Daughter

I

Love

You

Always

I'm fading

Who am I_? Pitch Black_

So dark inside, must fill this void.

It's the Moons fault, he did not save you, didn't save me...

* * *

**A/N: keep reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Okay sorry for the delay it was my mom's birthday, Happy Birthday mom! I love you! so this chapter is going to be short again.**

***warning this chapter does include some morbid scenes in which Jacquie has a nightmare if you would like to skip it, just don't read what is _italicized_* **

**Also I added a short bio for Jacquie on my account if you would like to read it. It's mainly stuff that's already in the story.**

**So anyways regarding the song challenge form the authors not/chapter 5, I was not expecting people to get it that easily -.-'… but anyways congrats! The winner of the song challenge is ObsidianLove (who is also writing an awesome ROTG story, check it out!) Woot woot! So for her special mention her OC, Lallie, Valen's personal gossip-getter is going to interview Jacqui and Pitch! This is gunna be fun!**

* * *

** Lallie: hiya guys! So like she said I'm Miss Valen's personal assistant. I collect and relay gossip to the mistress of love, and today I'm gathering gossip on the hottest scandal of the spirit world! Please welcome Jacqueline O'lenturn and her associate Pitch Black!**

**(The two of them are sitting on a big coach as far apart as possible, neither is looking too happy)**

**Lallie: *laughs awkwardly* riiiight….so these questions are for the both of you. Question one: why did you guys agree to teach/learn under the guardian's terms.**

**Jacqui: well it may be a bit hard for other people to understand but for me it's because I want to protect the children, I could have let Pitch rot in a cell, *Pitch glares at her* however children need fear in the world otherwise they would do dangerous and stupid things. But you can't have too much fear either, that's why I agreed to teach Pitch how to balance it.**

**Pitch: *sneers* I for one had no choice in the matter unless you hadn't noticed the fact that I was**** dragged to the north pole by a oversized clump of sand and a prattling woman with a severe case of Ophidiophilia! Then threatened with imprisonment, and a slow but imminent demise! X(**

**Lallie: aww well aren't they cute! Next question: Do you think this partnership of yours will go well?**

**Jacqui: this **_**partnership **_**will absolutely, positively, and at the risk of being redundant unconditionally not work out. I mean it's not like I want it to be difficult but come on! This is Pitch Black we're talking about, he' a complete beast! *throws her arms in the air***

**Pitch: ha! Like you should be talking! How could anyone get along with a tactless, mulish, hussy like you!**

**Jacqui: *gasps and turns red with anger* why you incompetent jacka-!**

**Lallie: OKAY! Weeell that was a bit *ahem* tense...so let's move on! Final question: Are you, in any way, attracted to each other? After all you are the Mistress of Fright and the Nightmare King.**

**Jacqui: *sputters incoherently still bright red* well-I- it's not like-he-but-wait-WHAT! **

**Pitch: *grins evilly* aww well your blush and those pretty little gold eyes tell it all~ **

**Lallie: *looks at Pitch* Ah-ha! So you admit it's you do have the hots for her! **

**Pitch: *snaps his head at her and jumps out of his seat* what! No! It was a taunt you imbecile! What could I see in that broad!**

**Jacqui: *jumps out of her seat* oh well you're no prize yourself Mr. I-think-I'm-so-cool-cause-I-have-a-sexy-accent! *suddenly she realizes what she said and slaps her hand over her mouth***

**Pitch: *looks at her wide eyed* wait-what did you just sa-**

**Lallie: Okay folks, well that's all the time we have today! And remember the characters have no memory of this interview cause I gave them drugged valentine's chocolate! So enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

A restless night void of dreams and slumber was all Jacqueline had to gain from her futile attempts to sleep. Even after soaking if a steaming lavender bath, and reading through an entire shelf of books from her personal library, she couldn't seem to relax. Unfortunately she knew the exact reasons for her dilemma; it was because she was nervous. In but one short hour the guardians would deliver Pitch onto her door step for their first "tutoring session", for lack of a better word.

Jacqueline still hadn't decided what they would do during the session or how to get Pitch to actually listen to her. The whole ordeal with Valen, where she had learned of the boogieman's past, only served confused her more. How would she find a way to unearth Pitch's old nature, to show him how to balance light and dark. As she pondered this, her mind began to roam, until they we all but consumed by thoughts of a single entity.

Vision of piercing yellow eyes belonging to a certain nightmare king suddenly came to mind, and instantly she remember how he had looked at her while they were at the north pole, and the way his stunning gaze had sunk beneath her skin and heated her blood. She remembered the dizzying feeling of being drawn in by those intense orbs and the sudden desire she had, to wrap her arms around the lithe form they called home.

_Wait what?! _With a blush Jacqueline shook her head to clear away the images. What the hell had she just been thinking! _What's the matter with me!? _She mentally screamed, as a hot blush consumed her entire face and neck. At the moment she wanted nothing more than to smack her head against a wall to clear her mind of such _diseased_ thoughts.

Unfortunately it was an urge that she found more and more common in herself. Lately every time she thought about Pitch or anything that even reminded her of the brooding man, her mind took a sharp turn into the gutter. If she couldn't even stand to think of the man how in god's name was she supposed to handle being in the same room with him for two hours!

The Halloween spirits groaned and flopped backwards onto her couch rubbing her temples, and the familiar feeling of being overwhelmed slid into her brain. "What am I doing" she whispered with a bitter smile "I'm a spirit whose been around for more than 300 years! I've died and come back! Why am I freaking out over something so trivial! I'm so..." she trailed off. _Melodramatic_, the tiny voice in her head finished her sentence.

_Exactly, that's the word melodramatic... _she thought solemnly. As she lay on the couch suddenly her lack of sleep and all the stress from the past couple of days came crashing down on her. She felt vulnerable and exhausted, but most of all she felt confused. She understood why the moon had chosen her, but she had no idea how to complete the task that lay before her. Darkness slowly seeped into the edges of her vision and she felt the tension in her body retreat. In a moment of weakness a single weary thought drifted in her mind, _what's the point, why not just let him get locked away, would the world really be that bad without Pitch Black? _Then slumber finally took its hold and her mind drifted into a realm of obscurity.

* * *

_Flames lapped at her skin and burned through her layered skirts as smoke swirled around her in a cloud of madness. Fear consumed her entire being and she looked around for something, what exactly, she didn't know. She ran through the blaze through a familiar hall way, passing a familiar parlor, before finally stopping in a familiar dining room. Suddenly she remembered where she was. This was her sister's old house, and this was the very night when everything changed, the night the world came crashing down. Pieces of the walls began to crumble revealing the skeleton like structure behind the flimsy forefronts, panicked she looked around her expecting to see looks of panic and terror that mirrored her own. However what she did find was even more terrifying than what she had been expecting._

_Aimee and Colan were sitting at the dining room table as if nothing was happening they sat their chatting as flames crawled along their flesh, eating away at it until only charred, bloody, blistering wounds remained. The stench of burning flesh filled the air and made Jacqueline wretch, she tried to cover her nose and mouth to try and block the horrible scent. But it was no use, it was if some twisted force was bypassing her senses and directly permeating her mind. She could understand why they were so unnaturally calm, where was the fear, the panic, the will to survive! _

_The flames roared around her as she lurched forward, she had to help them even if she didn't understand what was happening, she had to try. Then Aimee turned to face her and Jacqueline's stomach just about slid out her throat. Half her sisters face had been seared of by the flames leaving tendons exposed, and chunks of burning flesh hanging from her head. An eerily calm expression fell upon her._

_"Oh Jacqui! I'm so glad you could join us, have a seat." said Aimee, or at least the half of her that still remained._

_Jacqueline could only stand there in complete rigor mortis as bile rose in her throat, while she watched more and more of her sister's flesh get eaten away by the unforgiving blaze. Whatever was in front of her was not her sister, so it was simply a demented banshee that wore her beloved kin's skin. _

_the creature cocked its head to the side and pulled its rotting face into a sickening sneer, "c'mon sweetie" it cooed in a voice that turned Jacqueline's blood into ice," There's nothing to be afraid of."_

_Suddenly a loud crack was heard over head, and Jacqueline was barely able to register a support beam-exactly like one that had claimed her own life- come crashing down upon her sister and her nephew. The sound of bones snapping and flesh ripping echoed in the room, and blood seeped out from under the wooden pole._

_That was it. That was the last straw. No longer able to suppress it any longer bile rose in Jacqueline's throat as she heaved the contents of her stomach onto the floor in front of her. She fell to her knees, and even after she was sure there was nothing left to regurgitate, she kept on heaving. Pain erupted through her body as it forced bile out of her and onto the ground. In between each gag she let out hoarse screams and wails laced with pain and madness._

_Was this truly the world without fear, no fear to warn us of danger, no fear to elicit our need to survive, it was terrifying. Pain consumed her entire entity as sobs wracked her body. Never had she felt so hopeless, so weak, and so defenseless, than she did in a world with no Pitch Black._

* * *

_"Miss Jacqui? Mistress Jacqui?" _a soft voice called out to her from beyond the sleep induced haze. Jacqueline took a shaky breath and rubbed her face with her palms. When she was finally able to force her eyes open relief flooded through her veins as she was greeted be the sight of two healthy imps and a room that certainly wasn't on fire.

With a groan she sat up and stretched until she heard a satisfying pop emanate from her back. Had she known that she would form a habit of sleeping on this coach she would have gotten a better cushion for it. Looking toward Trick and Treat she began to wonder. From the lack of concern on their face they probably hadn't realized she was having a nightmare. So then why had they woken her up? On closer inspection the Halloween spirit realized that in fact the two imps looked excited.

Narrowing her eyes cautiously at the children, "has something happened? Why did you wake me up?" she asked. Trick flitted about excitedly as his sister hovered in front of Jacqueline's face.

"Our guests are here! There in the study room that we set up for your lessons!" the winged girl exclaimed.

Jacqueline's eyes widened and she shot out of her seat. How long had she been asleep?! To her it felt like moments, but in reality it had been almost an hour. The spirit sprinted down the corridor, having long since mastered running in heels. She wondered how long the guardians had been waiting for her, and suddenly she remembered the fact that in order to get to the study room one must pass the parlor. Even though the couch backing faced the parlor door, which had been open, there was still a chance they might have seen her passed out on the sofa.

An embarrassed flush crept up her neck, how humiliating! The mere thought of being caught in such a compromising situation made Jacqueline's ears burn. Suddenly that thought made her remember that she had in fact just been sleeping, and probably looked a little more than just a bit disheveled. Pausing for a moment in front the study doors to inspect her in the reflective surface of the silver door knob, she quickly fixed her hair and straightened her clothes. When she was satisfied she took a step back.

As she placed her hand on the handle a thought struck her. Once she walked in she couldn't go back. Walking in to that room confirmed her deal to teach Pitch. She would have to deal with his incessant harassing, and uncomfortable stares. There was no telling what challenges and tests laid ahead. Then she thought of the nightmare she had just escaped form, a world without fear, where chaos ruled, and caution was thrown to the wind.

Jacqueline refused to allow such a world to exist, and so with that thought she wrapped her fingers around the knob and turned it. With one last shaky breath she composed herself, and opened the door, stepping into the unknown.

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**Also I would like to say thank you to everyone who reviewed so far, including InkAngelXIII_, Frost, Noface, riotxxundertaker, linguisticRenegade, big fan,_ and all the _Guests_! When I started writing this I wasn't expecting a huge reaction to it, so it means so much when I see all the reviews and favorites. Seriously guys it means a lot to me, every time I get a new review I practically bounce of the walls and a few of my friend have threatened to send me to a psyche ward XD! I love you guys so much! Read, enjoy, review! tell me what you think of the interview! XOXOXOXO**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and OC ideas! Again at the moment I'm not ready to use the OC's, however if you would like you can still send them. Also tell me what you think of the interview, and if you would want more of that kind of stuff! As usual school sucks L and due to testing the chapter was delayed again. However I'm out of school now, so be ready for the more serious chapters to begin. I'm also going to try and focus more on Pitch in the upcoming chapters, maybe even do a few from his POV. While writing this chapter I had sever writers block, seriously you don't know how hard it was to write this XP. But here's the new chapter please enjoy! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

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*DISCLAIMER: I do not own any characters except for my OC's. All credit for the other characters goes to William Joyce & DreamWorks Animation.*

As Jacqueline stepped into the spacious room she could feel the tension build in her stomach. North, Sandy and Bunnymund where sitting at the table. Tooth was flitting around the room barking orders to her fairies, while jack balanced on one of the cabinets, watching with a permanent smile. As the Halloween spirit stepped further in to the room her eyes searched for the one man that hid in the shadows, the man who had been haunting her thoughts for the last two days, however when she scanned the room she realized she was unable to find him.

"Looking for someone you overgrown elf?" a cool voice sounded from behind her.

Startled Jacqueline's head wiped around towards the sound. Standing behind her in a darkened corner stood Pitch Black. Pale silvery-gold eyes glared at her, from an annoyed and pale face. The golden shackles on his wrists had been removed; however it was obvious that he hadn't regained his entire strength. The shadows under his angry eyes were darker than before, and his face was drawn and weary. As he stood there glaring at her, he leaned lightly against the wall. To an outsider he might have seemed cool, and relaxed. However Jacqueline knew better, in reality the boogieman was leaning there because he barely had the strength to stand on his own.

It took the Halloween spirit a moment to realize Pitch had just made fun of her pointed ears, and when she did she could almost feel her blood begin to boil. Could this man try to be civilized!? She hadn't even laid eyes on him yet before he saw it fit to insult her. Narrowing her eyes she turned to fully face the pale man.

"Oh, pitch! I hadn't seen you there. You look _tired_ dear, would you like to lie down and take a nap? After all you must be exhausted from getting your butt kicked." she sneered, her voice dripping with faux honey. She noted with some satisfaction that this resulted in a spark of annoyance in his eyes and silently applauded herself the witty rejoinder, while the wiser part of her mind warned her against antagonizing the man. She knew that somehow he would make her regret it later; however she was too busy enjoying her small victory to worry about that now.

Pitch growled at her, attempting to step forward but stumbled. He caught himself on the wall, frowning at the dark haired woman in front of him. Finally grasping that he wouldn't be able to attack her physically, he decide verbally would have to suffice, at least until he had enough strength to properly exact his revenge.

"Don't you dare speak down to me as if I were a child" he hissed vehemently at her. "I have brought terror to millions of pathetic souls over the past 1200 years! You could not hold a candle to what I've accomplished!"

He refused to be talked down to by this woman, no matter how appealing she seemed to be. That's right, Pitch maybe spiteful, but he certainly wasn't blind. He was well aware of how attractive he found the Halloween spirit. Her milky skin that practically begged to be touched, her raven locks, and those entrancing golden eyes. Hmm yes, he was well aware of her physical attraction. However the simple fact that she actually thought that she could "_teach him a lesson",_ or "_change him for the better",_ pissed him off to no extent. Who did she think she was? He was the Nightmare King for heaven's sake!

Then there was the point of her audacious behavior, thinking she could simply insult him without any consequences. Back in the dark ages, when he was in his prime, such a thing would have been unheard of. But this woman acted as if it where her favorite sport! If he had been able to he would haunt her with the worst nightmares he could conjure. He would send them for the rest of her remaining nights until her mind was riddled with madness. However he hadn't the strength or opportunity, not with the guardians breathing down his neck.

He had however had the splendid pleasure of witnessing her little sleeping fit, only moments ago. While the guardians had not been aware of it as they passed by the parlor, Pitch had been able to feel the pulsing waves of fear and anguish emanating from Jacqueline as she slept. What caused the bad dream was beyond him, at the moment he had no ability to control fearlings, but perhaps his mere presence was enough to cause nightmares. That thought brought a smile to his face.

The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted his thoughts, and Pitch looked up to find its owner. North stood from where he had been seated and stalked towards the pair of dark spirits. He stopped next to Jacqueline, towering over her by a good foot or more. "Jacqueline! It is nice to see you again! Don't mind Pitch he is still sour from before" then casting a menacing glance at pitch he added, "but I am sure he vill be more dan happy to cooperate now" his voice dripped with a hidden threat as he locked eyes with the boogie man.

Jacqueline nodded in response to his greeting, "I do hope so" she muttered inaudibly. Tooth flitted over to the Halloween spirit and flashed her dazzling smile. "Hey Jacquie," she said landing in front of the dark haired woman, "we've been thinking about some stuff relating to today, and we've all agreed that it would be best is we stayed here to make sure everything goes smoothly, just for today. You guys can have the room to yourselves but we'll be waiting outside, that is if you don't mind…" she finished questionably.

A wave of relief washed over Jacqueline at this news. While she was confident she could hold her own against Pitch, the thought of being completely and utterly alone with him was extremely unnerving. Even now standing in a room full of guardians she could still feel the ominous aura slithering out of the nightmare king standing in the corner. Looking at Tooth she smiled reassuringly, "that's fine, I don't mind. Let me just call my helpers to get you all settled." At the mention of the two imps the Halloween spirit smiled. She had been well aware of the fact that the two had been listening at the door the whole time. But who could blame them, when the rarely ever got visitors.

"Trick, Treat, you can come in now." She called over her shoulder. Both the children came racing in, much to fast, which caused them to trip and stumble over each other. They toppled over with a thud, but quickly righted themselves, standing at attention before the Halloween spirits legs.

"Could you two help the guardians get settled in the parlor, and maybe you can entertain them while I'm working." She said bending at the waist so she could be level with them. The two imps nodded, "alright," they both said. Treat gestured at the guardians, "c'mon follow us! The parlors down the hall, and if you're hungry we can stop by the kitchen, OH! Or the garden! We have some really pretty flowers blooming right now!" she babbled excitedly, the tiny girl grabbed Tooth's had and started to tug her towards the door, chattering about the pretty roses in the garden, and the yummy tea that she liked to make. Trick was about to follow his sister when he suddenly spotted Jack, lounging on the shelf.

The winged boy gave an excited shout, "you're Jack Frost! "He flew up to the frosty teen with a huge grin, "you're the most famous trickster in the whole spirit world! You've got to teach me some of your pranks!" the boy begged. Jack gave a hardy laugh. "Alright, why not, I could always use a partner in crime" he said with a mischievous smile.

Bunny groaned at them from his place by the door, "aww great! Now there's two of them!" both the boys turned to stick their tongues at him, and began to file out of the room with the rest of the guardians. North and Sandy were the last ones to reach the door, when North turned to face the two dark spirits. "Remember Jacquie, ve are right down de hall if you should need us," then he faced the boogieman, who frowned at him from the corner, "and don't start any trouble or I vill personally throw you in that cell ve promised," he said pointing a thick finger at the dark specter. Sandy floated behind him pulling his tiny golden hand in to a fist, before smacking it into his other open palm. The message behind the gesture was more than clear: _try any funny business and things get rough. _

With that said-or rather signed- the two guardians left the room closing the door behind them with a hollow _clack_. And just like that the reality of the situation came crashing down on the poor Mistress of Fright. She was practically locked in a room, alone, with the Nightmare King, Pitch Black. _Well… isn't this just dandy, _She thought.

With a deep breath, she steeled herself turning to face the nightmare king. But when she turned he was nowhere in sight. _That's impossible_ she though franticly, searching for any signs of the boogieman _how could he get away so quickly, there's no way he could have used his powers! He's still too weak! _Her brows knit closely together as she tried to think of possible escape routes in the room.

There were no windows he could have gone through. The only exit was the door, which she was currently standing in front of. Then there was the fact that North had been speaking directly to him, she had seen him herself, all less than a minute ago. There was no way he couldn't have gone far, not in such a short period of time. He had to still be in the room, but…where?

Silence filled the room as she pondered her situation, now not only was she trapped in a room with the boogieman, but now she couldn't see him, in other words…she was a sitting duck. Fear hummed along her nerves sending them into a rapid fire frenzy, and a cold knot dropped its weight in her stomach. "BOO"

Jacqueline gasped and whirled around to face the boogieman. A wicked grin plastered his face as he looked down at the shorter woman from where he now towered in front of her. Mentally Jacqueline wanted to kick herself for falling for such a simple trick, and giving Pitch the satisfaction of seeing her jump. The night mare king gave a quiet chuckle, obviously enjoying the irritated look the Halloween spirit was giving him.

"Oh, well u must think you're so hilarious," she hissed at him narrowing her eyes, "the next _Guardian of Comedy._"

"Now don't throw a hissy fit, I hardly think its warranted," he smirked at her, "what more do you expect, I _am_ the guardian of fear after all." Dramatically he raised a brow towards her.

_Doesn't mean you have to be a jackass,_ she mentally bit back. However much she wanted to say it out loud she knew she couldn't, if she wanted her nerves so survive these lessons she would have to play nice, whether she liked it or not- and she really did not.

In an attempt to calm her nerves she took a deep breath, "yes well mister _guardian of fear_, it's about time we started our lesson of the day" she turned her back to him to face the table where various books and papers had been laid out, "first I want to tell you the basics of my job, what I do, and how I do it, then-"a hot breath on the back of her neck cut her off midsentence.

She could feel Pitch's mouth only inches away from her ear his hot breath sending electricity across her skin. Leaning forward the tall man reached around Jacqueline's body, until his had rested next to her head, the back of his fingers grazing her burning face gently. Picking up a piece of hair that framed her face, he twirled it around his spidery fingers. Jacqueline froze, standing stalk still. She didn't dare move; her mind raced franticly trying to make sense of the situation. The heat from the nightmare king's chest sank into her back as he continued to idly play with her multicolored locks.

"Hmmm," his voice rumbled behind her, "such a fascinating combination of colors, so..._whimsical."_ he scrutinized. Jacqueline knew he was mocking her and her ears burned with rage. _First my ears now my hair!_ _I am sick of this man!_ Jacqueline fully planned to spin around and serve Pitch a piece of her mind, along with an order of serious butt whooping.

However all coherent thought seemed to die when she turned to face the nightmare king. She whirled around coming face to face with Pitch. His nose was less than an inch away and her wide eyes locked with his eclipsed orbs. The shear shock of being so close caused a scream of shock to die in her throat. jumping back, she tried to escape. However there was nowhere to go; as she flew back her butt came into contact with the table. She looked around but realized Pitch had blocked the path to the door and she couldn't run. She was trapped.

Instantly Pitch bore down upon her, slamming his hands down on the table creating a barricade on either side of her. He spread his fingers just outside her hips, and leaned in close. The hair on the nape of Jacqueline's neck stood on end. He was so close she could smell Pitch's smoky scent as it washed over her. His lips were perched in a deadly snarl, and an almost animalistic gleam reflected in his eyes.

"Scared?" he asked in a voice layered with threat.

"Not at all." She said in a calm and imposing voice. Or at least that was what she had been going for, in reality it came as more of a strangled and shaky whisper. Mirth danced in his eyes mingling with their beastly glow.

"Liar." He smirked.

Her pulse sky rocketed, and heat pooled in her chest as she released a shaky breath, _get yourself together woman_! Her mind seemed to scream.

"I'm not scared of you." Her voice a bit bolder now.

A wicked grin pulled at Pitch's pale lips, and he leaned in close. Close enough for Jacqueline to feel his breath on her own lips. _Make him stop! Don't you dare kiss him you crazy lady! He's Pitch black! He's a beast!_ .

"Not scared? Is that so, _Jacquie dear_?" He said in a tone that made her shudder and gasp. Pitch took a deep breath as Jacqueline's fear washed over him, and a sense of euphoria settled in his brain. _Oh how I love to play with my food_, he thought wickedly. His breath mingled with hers and she could feel her heart slam against her ribs, like a frightened bird trying to escape its cage. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _Get a hold of yourself!_

Her eyes reopened and she felt herself steel, "yes, you heard me. Now if you don't mind I have a lesson to teach, so back up before I'm forced to have you locked in a cell." she locked her now glowing eyes with Pitch's.

"You wouldn't dare." Pitch's eyes narrowed and he barred his teeth in a snarl.

Jacqueline's eyes formed two furious glowing slits, "Try. Me." She punctuated threateningly.

Pitch seemed to weigh his options along with the authenticity of the Halloween spirits threat. Finally he took a step back, but not before sliding his hands off the table top, causing the sides of his thumbs to graze Jacqueline's hips meaningfully, causing another wave of static to shoot through her. Then he straightened his back and folded his hands behind his back in a collected regal manner. _Regal my ass, _Jacqueline thought as she glared at the boogie man.

Shakily she regained her balance before, cautiously stepping around the table, glad to put some distance between her and Pitch. _That was a close call._ The raven haired woman wasn't quiet sure what had just happened but her body was still recovering from the shock. Had he been serious? Had he actually tried to kiss her? No. That couldn't be it. Obviously it was some kind of scare tactic to scare her off and give up. _Well too bad Pitch, _she thought vengefully,_ it won't be that easy._

Eager to regain the upper hand Jacqueline straighten her back, pointing one of the chairs at the table- the one furthest from the door. "Now if you're done fooling around, sit down."

Pitch narrowed his eyes at her, not appreciating her brazen tone. But none the less he stalked over to the chair. After he got situated Jacqueline joined him at the table, choosing the chair closet to the door and directly across from Pitch. From there she could see, and speak to Pitch directly, while blocking the door in case he tried another disappearing act. Plus having the table top to act as a barrier, and put some space between them didn't hurt.

" so what now?" Pitch sneered, "you said you would tell me about your job, are we going to dress up and run around screaming ""_trick or treat!""_

The Halloween spirit glowered at him, "there's more to Halloween than just dressing up and knocking on strangers doors demanding candy ." she frowned "there's an entire mentality behind it. Not only to do with its history, but also just the emotional and philosophical side to it as well."

Pitch raised a nonexistent brow at her. Surely she had to be joking, Halloween was just Halloween. It was a night in October where little brats ran around making a mockery of his fearlings. Sure it had its upsides, such as the increase of fear in the air, which caused the boogieman to smile. But then there was also the fact that along with the fear there was fun and joy, something that he never fully understood.

How could two completely different emotions mix so well? What was it about Halloween that created such a harmony? Was this what Jacqueline was speaking about? Pitch was more than a bit curious, not that he would ever admit it, especially to the woman sitting in front of him.

Jacqueline looked at Pitch , "so to fully understand both sides of Halloween you need to know a bit of history about it, I'm assuming you know the basics since you have been around longer than I have, am I right?" she looked at him questioningly.

Deciding to humor her, Pitch nodded. "I know the basic beginnings, yes."

"Alright then tell me what you know, that way we can just skip over the parts you know so it won't be too boring." Jacqueline gestured at him to speak.

Pitch thought for a moment, trying to think of everything he could remember about the particular holiday. "Well I know that a certain group of people, the Celtics if I recall correctly, believed that by wearing masks they could ward off evil." Pitch snorted at the thought. Really, masks, how stupid did they think he was?

"They also held Samhain festivals, where they danced around bonfires, also to ward off evil," He continued.

Jacqueline nodded, agreeing with him so far, "and do you know why they celebrated Samhain?" she asked.

Pitch looked at her as if to say _does it look like I would?_ The Halloween spirit sighed and chose to ignore the specters indignant look.

"Samhain was a festival to celebrate the end of the harvest, and the beginning of fall, however they believed that the border between the living world and the spirit world became thin on Samhain. They thought this due to the fact that all the plants and animals were dying. Autumn is the month of death after all, and because of this they believed it gave the dead a chance to reach through the veil and into the living world." She finished with a proud smile.

Now Pitch was intrigued, before he had just thought of All Hallows Eve as a night where humans ran around like idiots. Now he saw there was actually a reason behind it, not a real one, but still an interesting one. Forgetting about his past indifference Pitch leaned forward, "that explains the beginnings and the dressing up but what of everything else? The candy, the pumpkin carvings, what does any of that have to do with Samhain?"

Jacqueline looked at him thoughtfully, "well after the Romans invaded the Celts, the holiday began to branch out through religion and society and it began to change. People added ideas, created new traditions," she began, "the collection of treats actually started in the middle ages with soul cakes. Beggars and children would go through the streets at night singing at peoples doors and people would give them soul cakes, each cake represented a soul saved from purgatory."

Pitch nodded, then questioned, "But what about the pumpkin carving?"

"Well people have always made decorative lanterns for spiritual reasons; in ancient Africa they made elaborate gourds and lanterns. And in Scotland and Ireland they carved face shaped lanterns out of turnips to ward off evil spirits. It wasn't until the early 18th century that they made the switch to pumpkins."

Pitch nodded, "well now that you remind me I do remember those, silly little things hanging in people's windows and door ways, absolutely useless. But I will admit the artistry was admirable." Jacqueline nodded agreeing with Pitch.

"The pumpkins are one of my favorite things about Halloween. Especially the ones where you can tell they put a lot of effort into it. It shows they still care about the tradition not just the free candy." The Halloween spirit gave a bright smile. Then suddenly she froze. Her sudden pause was caused by the realization that she was actually having normal conversation with Pitch Black. There was no fighting, no insults or jibes, no strange or uncomfortable stares, just a normal conversation between two spirits.

The thought made Jacqueline smile even brighter than before, causing Pitch to look at her inquiringly. "What? Why are you smiling?" he asked.

Not wanting to spoil the moment the raven haired woman replied, "Oh nothing, I was just thinking of some of the jack o' lanterns if seen that I really liked." She said with a laugh.

Pitch watched her as she giggled, telling him of some of the pumpkins she'd seen, some silly, some artsy, and some downright scary. He watched as her lips curled into smiles, as her expressions changed to match her stories, and how her eye twinkled as she spoke of the children who ran around during her special night.

It was then that the thought struck Pitch, _did she have any believers_? She wasn't a guardian, and spirits that weren't guardians rarely ever had believers. Especially those who were not well known. Everyone knew Santa Clause because he was an icon that represented Christmas, same went for the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Sandman, they where all house hold names. No one knew of Jacqueline O'lenturn, when people thought of Halloween they thought of candy, and costumes, not a woman with a deadly parasol and pointed ears. For reasons untold Pitch couldn't help but sympathize with the woman, knowing all too well the empty feeling of not being believed in.

Looking up he realized that the woman was staring at him, having just realized he had zoned out, and she was patiently waiting for him to regain focus. Startled by her sudden and intent focus on him, Pitch cleared his throat awkwardly. "Ahem, yes, well, you said that there was another side to Halloween, besides its history that is…"

Jacqueline's eyes brightened up again, excitement glowed behind her golden orbs. "Ah yes! My most favorite part! The harmony of fear and joy, resulting it the most amazing feeling in the world! Excitement! The thrill of being scared and the joy of laughing about it all!"

A frown marred Pitch's face, "so you just tell kids there's no such thing as the boogieman? As if I don't exist? Then laugh at my fearlings and make a mockery of my image?" he bit angrily, rigid rage consumed his body. How dare she! Make a fool of him on a night founded on fear! His fear!

A frown matching Pitch's cut across Jacqueline's features, "no! It's nothing like that, fear is a huge part of Halloween! My job isn't to erase it, just to balance it!"

Pitch blinked slowly, and then processed her words. Jacqueline looked at him seriously for a moment, before continuing, "That's why they chose me to teach you. Before, all they were trying to do was destroy the fear in the world. They don't realize that instead they need to harmonize with it... the world needs fear."

Pitch looked at her in shock, she actually admitted to needing fear. _The world needs fear_, the words echoed in his head like a broken record. Repeating over and over in an endless loop in his mind. After centuries of being hated, and scorned, someone actually admitted to wanting him around. He was left speechless, confused and now, even more than before, intrigued.

"But-so-you…" Pitch trailed of still not able to form proper sentences to voice his questions.

Jacqueline looked at him softly, "Halloween is the one night a year where everyone _likes_ to be scared. The thrill reminds them that their alive. Going up against fear and surviving, gives them a sort of high, the kind you just can't get by ignoring your fears. It makes them feel invincible. It just wouldn't be the same without fear."

Pitch stared at her for a few minutes as if she had grown a second head. Was she serious? She actually wanted him around? it was a strange feeling, being accepted. He had been ostracized for so long he had no idea how to react. She was the first person to ever accept him without asking him to completely change his ways and give up the very part of him that made him, him. Maybe, just maybe he could give this a chance.

Finally he looked up at Jacqueline, noticing the genuine look of concern in her eyes. Why? Why did she care? After all he had done to provoke her and antagonize her? Why did she still care? Why did she still want him around? Why not just let the guardian lock him up?

"Why did you agree to teach me?" his voice came as a low whisper.

The Halloween spirit looked startled for a moment as if she hadn't really thought about it before. Then she looked Pitch straight in the eye and said. "well it may be a bit hard for you to understand but for me it's because I want to protect the children, I could have let you rot in a cell," they both frowned at this, "however children need fear in the world, they need _you_, otherwise they would do dangerous and stupid things, and the world would fall into chaos. But you can't have too much fear either, that's why I agreed to teach you how to balance it."

She paused for a moment, looking at her lap, and thought a bit harder, deep down she knew there was another reason, one she wasn't comfortable voicing. Then she realized that if she wanted Pitch to trust her and open up, she needed to do the same. With a shaky breath she continued.

"Also I-well I thought you needed a chance. Everyone thinks of fear as only a bad thing, they never try to look deeper at the good it can create too. When I heard all the awful things people said about you, because you're the spirit of fear…well it hurt me too, my existence is also based of fear so I kind of understand what it's like."

Then she looked back at Pitch with sad eyes, "it didn't feel right that you were scorned and I wasn't, just because the moon gave me the knowledge on how to balance my strengths…I agreed to teach so that I could share that with you…"

Once again the boogieman was shocked; this woman was just full of unexpected ideas and surprises. Realizing that he must have looked like an illiterate fool at this point, Pitch straightened his shoulders and wrestled away his astonishment.

"Thank you." was all he could manage but still it meant so much, held such underlying significance.

Now it was Jacqueline's turn to be surprised. Out of all the outcomes this was not one she had imagined. She had thought he would mock her, call her a sap, or maybe gotten angry at her and accused her of pitying him. Never did she expect him to _thank_ her.

Those two words_, thank you_, made her feel warm, but not uncomfortably so. The look in his eyes told her that he was genuine, and that alone meant the world. Her heart fluttered and a smile crept onto her face. She felt content and, for once, she felt comfortable with Pitch. This moment was one she wished lasted forever.

However as fate would have it the clock chimed at that exact moment making the Halloween spirit jump. Looking up she realized that they had been talking for almost two hours. She wasn't sure how long the lesson was supposed to be, she should probably have asked Tooth, since it seemed that the fairy had most of this down pat.

The guardians were still waiting outside, and the children were probably beginning to take there toll on the poor guardians, no doubt. Looking back at Pitch, who seemed to be engrossed in thought, she decided now was probably a good time to leave off for the next lesson. Standing from her chair caused it to scrape against the floor, pulling Pitch back to attention.

"I think this is a good place to leave off for today, next time we can talk more about the balance of joy and fear. Then we can start on the real challenge; controlling the balance."

Pitch nodded still looking a bit pensive. Jacqueline turned her back to him then opened the door, calling down the hall way for her two helpers. She heard Pitch get up from his chair, and walk up behind her. However this time she wasn't frightened.

When she turned around, Jacqueline's nose was inches away from Pitch's chest. They were so close she could feel the heat radiate from his core. _Note to self, teach Pitch the meaning of personal space, _she thought with a blush. Nervously she looked up at the tall man's face. When their eyes met she gasped.

It was the look. The look that had been haunting her for the past few days. That intense gaze that seemed to burn straight through her, making her feel light headed and dizzy. With a racing heart she tried to find equilibrium. His silvery gold eyes were locked onto hers and she could see the emotions that leaked from their depths. There was, curiosity, relief, confusion, but beneath it all there was that same emotion from before. The one she couldn't read.

He was so close; she could see the individual hairs on his head. From far away his hair looked sharp and stiff, but from where she stood now it looked soft and sleek. It seemed to beg her to be touched, and on a whim she almost did. Almost. His smoky scent raced over her, mixed with the under lying scent of earth and wood.

"Jacqueline," his voice rumbled low in his chest, "thank you…but do try to remember I do have a reputation to live up to. So while I promise not to be too unbearable, don't expect things to be easy either. I do love challenges after all." He finished with a wicked grin that sent shivers down her spine. He could hear the guardians making their way down the hall way, just a few yards away.

At first the shorter woman pouted. And if Pitch had to choose two words to describe that pout they would be somewhere along the lines of, adorable and highly provocative. Then the pout morphed into a grin and she looked up to the taller man.

"Well, then I look forward to beating all your _challenges_" she grinned.

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**I changed my pen name if anyone noticed :P . Sorry the chapter took sooo long. Hope it was worth the wait! School, writers block, and too much caffeine are a bad mix. Tell me what you think; is it moving along too fast? Too slow? Tell me! Leave a review cus u love me! And I u! xoxoxo!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Okay guys I'm finally ready to use the OC's! They will appear in the next chapter, so if you want to send more in send them now! Thank you for all your reviews and I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Also check out my profile, I just posted a link to my deviantart account where you can see a few drawings I did of Jacquie and Pitch! The main conflict is about to begin! (duh-dun-daaaa!) keep reading and reviewing luv ya! XOXOXOXO**

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The beast snorted as it raced through the midnight sky. Hooves tore through the stars leaving a trail of cosmic destruction in its wake. Cries and sobs of terrified mortals echoed through the night air, feeding the monstrous stallion. But still it raced on and on through the sky.

No longer bound to the control of its now weak master, the night mare ran through the night consuming every dream indiscriminately. Sweet dreams, happy dreams, trivial, or strange, it did not care. All the wild beast knew was that it was hungry. Its innards burned with a hunger that no dream could sate. And by every growing moment its appetite grew too.

The night mare raced by house after house, tainting every dream within reach, with fear and horror. It had no orders, no master, therefore it had no limits. It could feast on as many dreams as it liked without worry of being called back to the nightmare kings side. The king had long since been dethroned, and now his army of minions wandered without control, ruling over the night. Feeding on the dreams of all humans, not just the children. Nothing was off limits anymore; the entire world was free game.

As the mare raced along, others slowly began to join it, until a horde had gathered. From far away the herd of nightmares could have been mistaken for a huge thunder cloud, rolling across the skies trailing fear in its wake. The cloud of consumed every dream it passed, none were spared.

Finally the nightmares landed in a huge desolate field, where the only thing that grew from the infertile land where weeds and thorns. They huffed and stomped the ground, agitation and anticipation permeated the air, mixing with the boiling steam that wafted from their nostrils. They could feel the power in the air, power that would bring untold destruction and chaos. They knew it was coming, and fully intended on ruling over this new Dark Age.

The rule of Pitch Black was over, and from the ashes his former followers would rise and claim the new age. He might have had the advantage of status and power, but now he was weak and they ruled in terms of numbers and mass. Pitch would stand no chance against the newly formed armada. And they knew it.

The moon hovered above them, standing witness to the ordeal. This threat was something new, something that the likes of which were unknown. All the Man in the Moon did know was that the masters less beasts bellow were ready for and uprising. However the problem was, were the guardians?

* * *

Jacqueline groaned and sank deeper into the bath. Lavender scented bubbles floating around her body, creating foamy hills and mountain tops. Steam hung lazily in the air as Jacqueline, scooped up the soapy froth and built tiny fortresses and sculptures out of the bath bubbles. The warm water swirled around her, slowly striping away the tension of the day, and replacing it with a calm and tranquil feeling.

Idly she watched the walls of her foamy fortresses crumble and float away, until only the core was left exposed. The bathroom was quiet; the only sound came from the water lapping at the porcelain tub walls. Still the Halloween spirit sat quietly, thinking of the day's developments.

The day had started normally, well as normal as a day in her life could be. It had been barely more than a week since the first lesson with Pitch; they had met about three times since that day. In addition to their normal lesson plans Pitch had fully lived up to his promise of making the session _challenging_. Since that day he had made each lesson extremely difficult, with snarky remarks, juvenile comments, and countless eye rolls. Jacqueline wouldn't be surprised if the man's eyes rolled right out of their sockets.

She could still remember one remark he made a few days ago, during her lesson on the effects of too much fear, or too much fun in the world. She had been explaining that while fun was good, too much could cause horrible effects, such as reckless endangerment of innocent bystanders, or important responsibilities to be dropped, causing the suffering of hundreds, endless fun at the expense of other's safety.

It was then that Pitch called her a "_nagging old crone" _do to the fact that she sounded like a paranoid mother. She flushed angrily at him then corrected him, saying that people who nagged tended to be narrow minded, something she was not.

He had responded to that by saying, "_oh please, you're so narrow minded when you walk your earrings knock together_."

Jacqueline had been so "_distressed_" by his comment that she had "_accidently_" bumped into the table which caused Pitch's tea cup to "_accidently_" tip over, spilling boiling tea onto the nightmare king's lap. Needless to say Pitch had been quite upset afterwards, leading back to a very tense lesson.

Then there was the lesson that had occurred earlier today, Pitch had complained about her teaching methods. Claiming that she did nothing but lecture him, and that she always told him to be a better person, but then never explained how he was supposed to be a better person. Jacqueline finally realized he was right, but it took quite a bit of arguing before she eventually admitted it. So the Halloween spirit finally conceded and decided to make the lesson of the day about _kindness_. Something that he sorely lacked.

Pitch looked at her skeptically when she announced this, "so what? Are we going to hold hands and sing _kumbaya_ ?" he said sarcastically. Jacqueline glared at him before continuing,

"No, Actually I'm going to explain it on a basic level then we'll try a couple of examples." She said, ignoring his earlier comment. Pitch frowned at her, feeling a little more than just insulted.

"Don't talk to be as if I were stupid! You don't need to explain the concept of kindness to me!" he growled, "I am perfectly capable of being kind; I simply choose not to be, because it's for the weak."

He finished by crossing his arms indignantly. Of course he did really know much about kindness, he was the embodiment of fear, and his job didn't call for anything remotely kind. However he had his pride to protect and refused to be treated like a dumb child.

Raising an eyebrow, the Halloween spirit smirked. It was painfully obvious that the nightmare king was bluffing to preserve his huge ego.

"Oh really?" she droned patronizingly, "Is that so? Then how about you show me Mr. Expert?"

The pale man froze, obviously uncomfortable about being caught in the middle of a bluff. However Pitch was too stubborn to simply admit it, so he would just have to improvise. Awkwardly he cleared his throat.

"Ah well, um yes, kindness is…" he struggled to think of something to say.

Jacqueline smirked at as the nightmare king stuttered, enjoying the way he squirmed to power through his lie. She could have just helped him out, but she was enjoying this too much.

"Ah well, um yes? I'm waiting for an answer Mr. Black." She mocked in a sweet counterfeit voice, leaning forward she propped her head up with her arm.

Pitch narrowed his silvery eyes at the woman in front of him, "shut up! I was getting there!" he snarled, "What those guardians see in such an impatient creature as yourself I will never know!"

Jacqueline winced at that comment but tried not to pay much mind. She had learned over the past few days that reacting to Pitch's comments only encourage him to make more. So the best plan was just to ignore him until he got bored and moved on to the next topic. She sighed irritatingly, rolling her eyes.

"Fine then hurry up." She urged him along.

Pitch scowled, "fine then! Kindness is…." He paused for a moment, "it's being polite to someone in order to be on good terms with them in so you can succeed in your own interests." He finished with a smug grin.

He felt very proud of himself for coming up with that answer on such short notice, especially since he was quite confident that he was correct. However that confidence began to dwindle when he noticed Jacqueline shake her head in disappointment, while gently massaging her temples. She sighed and with her fingers still on her forehead, she looked at Pitch with saddened eyes.

_Sadness?_ _Why? Why in the world would she be said? I answered the question didn't I? _A confused frown marred Pitch's features as the thoughts rolled into his head. Suddenly another thought wormed into his head, one that confused him even more than the rest. _I don't like it when she's sad… I wish I could do something, anything, just so she wouldn't be sad anymore._

Almost instantly his common sense regained itself and snuffed out the crazy thought. _Why should I care whether she's sad or not!? For all I care she could cry me a river! I answered her damn question; I hardly think that sadness is warranted! _

He turned his focus back to Jacqueline, and frowned again, fully intending to find out what she had against his answer.

"Well? I answered! What's wrong with what I said!?"

Jacqueline shook her head, "oh Pitch! That's not at all what kindness is!"

Pitch gave a frustrated groan; _I just can't win with this woman!_

"Fine!" he growled, throwing his hands into the air, "then what is _kindness? _ You infuriating woman!"

"Oh you just don't understand!" she said, growing just as frustrated, if not even more so, as Pitch. Taking a deep, calming breath she chose her words carefully.

"Kindness is not about 'self-interested politenesses," she frowned at Pitch's skeptical look, but paid little mind and continued,

"Simply being nice to other people because you believe that it will manipulate them into giving you what you want in life, or controlling them, is not kindness. Neither is pretending to care for someone and hiding rage or frustration behind a false smile! None of that is kindness!"

Pitch huffed, this all seemed so pointless. What was the point of being nice to someone, if there was nothing to gain? If there was nothing to gain, why should he be kind in the first place? And why should he care whether or not others were happy with his version of kindness? It was all so trivial!

"Then what's the point of it all!" he cried in frustration, "Why would I willingly be kind to someone if I gain nothing! That sounds horrid! It's soft and pathetic and most of all degrading!"

"That's not the point! Kindness is about doing something good, without asking for repayment, or needing to be motivated."

"But that's just-so-I-ARGH!" the nightmare king groaned in defeat, slamming his hands down on the tables.

Jacqueline sighed, slouching in her chair. _How could such a simple concept seem so complicated!_ She could all ready feel a stress induced migraine begin to form at the base of her head. Rubbing small circles on her temples the Halloween spirit tried to think clearly, _I just need to think of a way Pitch can use kindness, maybe then he can learn from experience. Maybe I can…say something nice to him? Ugh no… that would just feed his ego. He needs to learn how to be nice to others. Maybe I can… ah-ha! I've got it! _Jacqueline stood from her seat, the wooden legs of the chair scraped along the floor, causing Pitch to look up at her.

"Where are you going?" he asked her.

"I'm just calling in Trick and Treat" she explained over her shoulder as she reached the door.

Quickly Jacqueline called to her helpers down the hall before returning the the table. Pitch gave her a curious stare, oblivious to her plans. Why would she need her helpers in the middle of a lesson? What was she scheming up this time? Not long after Jacqueline had called them, Trick and Treat came flying into the room.

"You called mistress?"

"Yes I need your help teaching the lesson today" she said, smiling at the two imps. They both looked at her curiously.

"What do you need us for?" Treat asked incredulously. Their mistress had never called them in for help during any of the other lessons. Sure they had been curious, but they never pried, knowing Jacqueline was already as stressed as it was.

"I just need you two to sit on table right here." She patted the spot on the table in front or her. "Pitch and I just need you for examples."

Both the children looked at each other questionably and shrugged. Flying over to the table they plopped down in the middle, right between Pitch and Jacqueline. Turning their heads, they looked at their mistress expectantly.

"Is this alright, mistress Jacquie?" they questioned in unison.

"Yes, yes, that's fine," she nodded at them dismissively, then she turned to Pitch and clapped her hands, "okay! Let's try a little experiment! Try being nice to the kids!"

Pitch blinked, then after that he blinked again. _Is she serious?_ He looked at the children in front of him and saw two annoying tumors. Sure the boy had some potential in the field of mischief, but personally he thought the little girl looked like an overgrown pumpkin. She was too perky, and sweet, so sweet that just listening to her babble gave him cavities. Now he was supposed to complement them? Who was this supposed to work?

Raising a brow he shot a skeptical glance towards Jacqueline. The Halloween spirit smiled at him reassuringly, and made a small nudging motion.

"Go on, try it. Say something nice. But be honest, try not to force it." She said encouragingly.

Pitch suddenly felt uncomfortable when he realized everyone in the room was staring at him, expectation reflected in their eyes. He looked at the two rug rats sitting on the table in front of him, staring at him with unsettlingly wide orange eyes. Awkwardly he cleared his throat.

"Um hello Treat, you look nice today," it was very obvious that her was still struggling, but so far so good. _Maybe there is some hope for him after all_, Jacqueline thought optimistically.

"You look as cute as a um… a tarantula?"

_Yep, scratch that, it was hopeless._

Silence reigned over the room, as Jacqueline gapped at the nightmare king. Treat sat there in a shocked and traumatized state while her brother snickered quietly behind his hands. For a long time no one said anything, the only thing heard was Tricks strangled laughter. The Halloween spirit glared at him angrily. Pitch glared back, irritation etched onto his features, _oh great! What now!_

"_Pitch!" _Jacqueline hissed from across the table, "I said be nice! Not creepy!"

He frowned. "I was being nice!" he growled, "I don't see what's wrong with that statement! Most people define cute animals as, small and furry. Tarantulas are exactly that, small and furry."

"Yes and their also eight legged, hairy, arachnids with beady eyes, and fangs that melt their prey from the inside out by injecting them with acidic venom!" She bit back; her voice carried so much venom she could have been related to the exact spider she spoke of, "Not exactly something children like to be compared to."

"Irascible wretch! Nothing I do is ever right according to you! is it?!" the nightmare king shot out of his seat and began to pace around the room like a caged animal.

Jacqueline opened her mouth to retort, but choose for the better. If she wanted Pitch to improve she had to be encouraging. After all at least he was trying, and he wasn't just shooting down all her attempts to teach. If he gave her a chance, he deserved one as well.

Turning to her two helpers she gently shooed them away. Quietly she thanked them for their help and sent them on their way. Warily they watched Pitch, waiting till he turned away, before darting out the door to the safety of the hallway.

"All right, you're right… you gave it your best shot." She sighed in defeat, massaging her head again. "Okay how about I give you an example… then we'll try again."

The sound of pacing feet stopped for a moment, and Jacqueline looked up. Pitch stood there looking at her warily. Fatigue plagued the Halloween spirit as she watched Pitch, and for a moment a look of exhaustion, mirroring her own, crossed his face. It was almost humorous, how such a stressful situation could be born out of such a simple topic.

"What kind of example where you thinking about?" Pitch asked, returning to his seat.

"Simple, I'll say something nice to you, and then you say something nice to me. Then we can take it from there…. And if that doesn't work we can call it a day."

"Complement each other? In case you hadn't noticed we can barely stand each other. How do you expect us to find any good qualities of which to complement?" the dark man sneered.

"Oh well I don't know! You're the bloody nightmare king, cant you think of something?" she snapped. She was all ready at the end of her leash, but she was too stubborn to give up until Pitch showed some kind of progress.

Pitch just growled in response not appreciating her tone. With an exasperated sigh, Jacqueline pulled her chair closer to the table. Leaning onto her elbows and the Halloween spirit looked directly at the man in front of her._ Looks like I'm going to have to be the "bigger man", _she thought to herself.

"Fine. I'll start." She stated

To say he was curious about what Jacqueline would say would be an understatement on Pitch's part. The anticipation thrummed along in his veins, although he refused to admit it. He shouldn't have cared what she thought of him. He shouldn't have cared whether or not she saw something in him, something she might have liked. However, against all his efforts to control his rebellious mind, he _did_ still care. He cared about the image he held in Jacqueline's eyes.

Jacqueline took a deep breath, trying to calm her poor nerves. It seemed that every time she was around Pitch her nerves went crazy. _Okay Jacquie just say something nice, it's not that hard, the _voice in her head chimed. _Easier said than done,_ she mentally retorted, then paused realizing she was having an argument with herself. The Halloween spirit scowled,_ oh great now I'm going crazy!_

Looking at Pitch Jacqueline silently wondered what to say. She hated to admit it but she saw quite a few pleasing qualities in the boogieman. A blush crept across Jacqueline's face upon realizing that she would be confessing that to the man in front of her. _Keep it together girl! There is nothing wrong with telling the man a complement. Remember this is all for the sake of education! _Taking one more breath Jacqueline steeled her nerves, _here goes nothing._

"Pitch…." She said, catching his attention, "you are much more clever than people give you credit for, and although I'm sure it doesn't seem like it, I have come to enjoy your company, I don't have many people to talk to, but I can defiantly say that conversations with you are always…exciting"

Jacqueline quickly looked away from Pitch's surprised face. She was absolutely sure that her face must have looked like a tomato. A hot burning sensation ran across her face, down her neck, and spread across her entire body. She was embarrassed, yes, but she still had a mission to complete. She had fulfilled her part of the deal, now it was Pitch's turn. With her blush still at full power, Jacquie attempted to play it cool.

"well, go ahead. It's your turn." She said in a shaky voice. Honestly it shouldn't be that big of a deal! She was just showing him the ropes after all.

Pitch cleared his throat and begun, "Jacqueline…"

The Halloweens spirit's heart fluttered in her chest. _ Jacqueline, _she had never heard him actually use her full name before, and the way it sounded when he said it was just so…enticing. Shivers ran down her spine as the familiar sensation of being watched hit Jacqueline. Jacqueline sent an uncharacteristically coy glance towards Pitch from under her lashes. What she saw made her blush, which had begun to fade, return tenfold. And for once in her life Jacqueline cursed her overly pale complexion.

Pitch was watching her intently, not the way he had been the day before, it wasn't _the_ _look. _But he was still watching at her closely, analyzing her every move. Watching the way her pale skin flushed with color, the way she refused to look up from the table, save for those shy glances up from under her thick lashes. Pitch had never seen her like this, so soft, and vulnerable. She was always yelling at him or spilling tea in to his lap. Never had she been so…cute.

"Jacqueline, I believe it's safe to say you have many faces that I am curious to see, and each time I see a new one I'm never not amazed."

That was the last straw, Jacqueline was sure that she would have a heart attack any moment now. Why did she care what Pitch thought? Why was it that every time she was around him it felt like she was on an emotional roller coaster? _Why? Why? Why?! Argh! _She stressed in her mind, _why do I have so many damn questions! Why do I care!_

The blush on her face still hadn't gone away, when she heard Pitch clear his throat again. Cautiously looking up, Jacqueline met his gaze. A hint of a smile pulled at the corners of Pitch's lips, and mirth danced in his eyes.

"I believe it's polite to say "thank you" after someone's given you a complement." He teased.

Jacqueline smiled; for once she was glad for Pitch's snarky remarks. Somehow it made the whole situation seem less awkward. With the tension in the room successfully diffused, Jacqueline laughed.

"Well if I remember right, you never said thank you either, so I guess we're both impolite ingrates." She smiled mischievously.

After a little more talking the lesson ended, and the guardians came to retrieve Pitch. There were no awkward stares, no ominous promises. The clock had chimed, signaling the end of the lesson; they both stood, and walked out to the parlor and waited for the guardians to appear. Trick and Treat had brought some tea and sandwiches, which were both gratefully accepted by both the starving spirits. And somehow while Pitch and Jacqueline sat there talking idly about trivial topics, it felt…right, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to have tea with the boogieman.

Fading steam floated across Jacqueline's vision snapping her out of her daydream. The water in her bath had begun to grow cold, sending a chill down her spine. Most of the lavender bubbles had dissolved in the water, leavening it grey and clouded. Strands of her long raven hair floated in the bath, creating inky tendrils that slithered in the water.

For a long time she just sat there watching as the strands twisted and moved with the flow of the water. The peaceful quiet surrounded her, listening to the water slosh around in the tub. However eventually the water became too cold to sit in and she decided that it would be best to get out.

A she stood the water ran down her arms and legs, running back to the safety of the tub. Her long hair clung to her body, and her bangs lay plastered against her face. She grabbed one of the soft red towels hanging from the towel rack and quickly dried herself off. She scrubbed the towel over her head gently, and then picked her robe up from off the marble counter next to the sink. She wrapped her body in the silky black robe, quickly tying it shut.

As Jacqueline walked out of the bathroom a growl erupted from her stomach. Suddenly a thought struck her. _I haven't eaten anything since that sandwich with Pitch._ Deciding on a little pit stop before bed, Jacqueline headed for the kitchen. She had already tucked Trick and Treat in for bed, so she couldn't call them for tea. Not that she really needed them to make it for her; she knew how to make tea herself. It was just more convenient when someone made it for you.

House was silent, as Jacqueline walked down the dark corridor that led to the kitchen. When she got there she turned the light on before stepping into the room. She made her way over to the icebox and quietly pulled out the milk. Then after digging around a bit more in the cupboards she produced a tub of cookies.

Usually she kept the sweets hidden to make sure the kids didn't spoil their appetite, but on occasions she would bring them out and give a few to the little imps. Of course she usually ended up regretting the fact after the kids got sugar rushes. And on occasion she would also eat them for a midnight snack. Hey no one's perfect.

As the Halloween spirit sat there enjoying her milk and cookies she idly looked around the room. The kitchen wasn't quit as luxurious as the rest of the manor but it was quaint, and held a presence of its own right. She glanced at the calendar hanging from the wall, not thinking much of it. That is until she noticed the date.

_September 18__th__… _

_September 18__th__!_

_Oh my god!_ Jacqueline shot out of her chair, nearly knocking over her glass of milk, _I didn't realize the date! I have less than two months till Halloween and I still have to prepare!_ Running over to the calendar she flipped to the next page: _October._ She counted the days left till Halloween: 43 days left. After doing the math a realization hit her, like a slap in the face.

_I have a lesson with Pitch on Halloween!_

* * *

**A/N: OH NO! What are the nightmares up to!? What will Jacqueline do about Halloween!? Will they ever just admit that they like each other?! Keep reading to find out!**

** I hope you liked it! So again if you want your OC to be included in the next chapter look at chapter 5 for the details! Thank you! Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello everyone! Thank you for all the amazing OC's, I'm sorry I wasn't able to use them all but I will give everyone who wasn't chosen a special mention at the bottom! This chapter is the turning point in the story! So be prepared for some crazy moments! **

**The OC's I chose are**: _**April Showers**_ and _**May Flowers**_ from _Kiara Lee Phoenix_, _**Ankou Kieran**_ from _The Dangerous One_, and _**Eris**_from _ObsidianLove_(she will come in a little later, maybe the next chapter)

**For the ballroom dancing scene located in the middle of the chapter I suggest listening to:**** Dmitri Shostakovich - The Second Waltz (the piano vesion)****, to help set the mood. Hope you enjoy ;) doesn't forget to leave a review! XOXOXO**

* * *

"North" Tooth said in a quiet voice, "their here."

"Vha…who?"he yawned.

Drowsily the Christmas spirit rubbed his eyes. Lately he hadn't been able to sleep, due to a strange increase in Nightmare reports. At first the guardians were worried that Pitch was up to his old tricks, but their theory was quickly put to rest after Sandy followed the boogieman for two days straight. In those two days the nightmare king never left to create a single bad dream, yet the nightmares still seemed to increase. That meant only one thing; the nightmares were originating somewhere else.

"The spirits you asked to meet with you. Their waiting in the lobby."

At first they thought that maybe it was some kind of mistake, so in order to check they traced down a few of the spirits who had sent in reports. After making contact with them he had called a meeting, so they could find out exactly what they saw.

North stretched his thick arms above his head, groaning when his spine emitted a set of pops. He stood from his seat and followed the Tooth fairy out the door, and in to the lobby. The three spirits sitting at the table looked up when the huge Russian Cossack and the Tooth fairy entered the room.

The rag tag group consisted of two women, sisters or maybe close friends judging by their familiarity with each other and their matching dresses, and a mousey boy who looked about Jack's age, though it was hard to make out his face from under his ragged paperboy hat. His most distinguishable feature being his large owl like eyes, trapped behind a pair of bulky rectangular glasses. One of the two women who sat across from the boy stood up, her face was framed by a mass of orange curls that bounced on top of her head when she rose.

"Tooth what is all of this about? Why are we here?" the stranger asked, concern reflecting in her crystal blue eyes.

Obviously she knew the Tooth fairy on a personal level, if her direct speech meant anything. The fact that the Tooth fairy herself flitted over to the woman and place a comforting hand gently on her shoulder only solidified this assumption.

"Don't worry May. We just need to clear up some things about the reports that you, your sister and a couple other spirits have been making lately." Tooth explained to the worried nature spirit.

May gave an anxious frown then turned to her sister who remained seated behind her. Her sister, April, sat there, watching the scene unfold with dark stormy blue eyes that contrasted sharply with her long, pale silvery hair. For the moment she said nothing but if need be, she would rush to her sister's aid. North sensed the siblings discomfort and quickly stepped in.

"You have nothing to vorry about. None of you are in trouble. Ve are just confused about some of de reports and vant to get our information from de source, just in case there vas a mix up in de paper vork."

Again May glanced at April, but this time her gloomy twin gave a silent nod, indicating that they should listen to what the guardians had to say. May conceded and returned to her seat next to her sister. Sitting there, side by side, they couldn't have looked more different. May's warm peachy skin only helped make April's pale porcelain skin seem paler. May looked across the table towards the dark haired boy who had been watching the whole time. He didn't seem to be fazed by any of the information that had been thrown out on to the table, instead he simply sat back and listened waiting to analyze the next part of the conversation.

North turned to the entire group this time, addressing the main cause of the meeting. The three spirits listened intently as he spoke,

"You have all been called here due to an alarming amount of Nightmare sightings and reports. Out of all of de reports yours stood out de most. April Showers and May Flowers reported seeing Nightmares in huge masses, traveling in vhat seemed to be a heard of some sort," he gestured to the two siblings.

April nodded, "we were running errands for Mother Nature when we saw them, and at first May thought it was a thunder cloud. But I know thunder clouds and that was not one. When it finally passed above us we could see them; hundreds and thousands of fearlings, all running together…" her eyes drifted to the table, suddenly remembering the terrifying visage.

Then he turned to the mysterious boy, "and de Spirit of Darkness, Ankou Kieran, reported seeing Nightmares dat attacked not only children but also full grown adults, something dat usually is extremely rare, but now seems to be happening on a regular bases."

The boy nodded, confirming the unsettling news. A heavy silence fell over the group as they glanced at each other uneasily. Much like the guardians had feared, no one was denying or correcting the information. That meant that whatever this was, it was real. It wasn't just some mistake. Something bad was happening.

"Why did you need us to confirm this?" a husky voice broke the silence.

All eyes turned to Ankou, who had just spoken for the first time throughout the meeting. He looked straight at North, his piercing grey blue eyes locked with the Russians own baby blues.

"Usually when it comes to Nightmares the first and only suspect is Pitch Black. The only reason you would doubt the fact was if some how he wasn't involved…is that the case here?" the young man asked.

North nodded, this boy was clever. He had put all of that together simply from listening to them talk. Plus the Christmas spirit had a sneaking suspicion that the dark spirit had some personal experience with the boogieman.

"I take it dat you have had your fill of run ins with Pitch?" he inquired.

"In a few cases our paths have crossed, once or twice, here and there." The spirit of darkness shrugged.

The Russian chuckled lightly, and then turned his focus back to the matters at hand. He turned back to the group and frowned. He would have to fill them in on the information they had so far.

"Unfortunately Ankou is right. It seems dat de situation isn't dat easy dis time. Pitch is not de cause for the increase in Nightmares. So dat means dat something, or _someone_ else is causing the Nightmares to get riled up, and riot like dey are now. It's up to us to figure it out."

May's brows knitted together as she looked at the huge Cossack, "but what can we do?" she asked.

North looked at her, "you have all had de closest encounters with de Nightmare armada. Ve need as much information as ve can get, so ve can trace this weed back to de root." He explained.

May fiddled with the orange sash on her yellow sundress, she knew exactly what the guardian meant. In order to track down the source of the control, they would first have to map out the Nightmares behavior. April fiddled with her own deep blue sash, her grey dress mirroring her sisters. She was worried about the situation, worried about getting involved in such dangerous business. However her over all concern was for the safety of her younger sibling.

Ankou was currently having similar thoughts and concerns. He wasn't sure how safe it was to go traipsing around in such tricky dealings. Things that involved Nightmares had a tendency to get very dangerous very quickly and they were rarely ever resolved without conflict. Facing off with fear was not something he looked forward too.

Still everyone in the room knew the importance of the situation. If someone was bending the Nightmares to fit their own desires it could end catastrophically. The world would be overrun with madness and fearlings. Paranoia would set in and throw the balance off center, leading to untold consequences. Whatever was happening had to be stopped.

"I'm in." May declared.

April looked at her sister for a moment before nodding.

"Then so am I." she joined in.

Ankou watched the two sisters throw in their lot. _Well I might as well join in the band wagon_.

"Alright I'm in too." he said, adjusting is hat to sit lower on his brow.

North and Tooth smiled, _"chudesnyy!" _the large Christmas spirit exclaimed.

North asked them to be on the lookout for any other suspicious activity, and asked them to meet again tomorrow to discuss the details of the case. They had all agreed, and were quickly sent on their way.

Harsh frosty winds battered at Ankou's brown leather cape as stepped out of the work shop and into the freezing northern hemisphere. As he watched the wind toss up flurries of snow among the other wise barren landscape a thought struck him.

_I think it's about time to visit my old friend Pitch Black…_

And with that he was off.

* * *

The last few days had flown by in a blur. Between juggling her daily duties, teaching Pitch, and trying to catch up with her Halloween preparation, Jacqueline was exhausted. At the end of each day she usually ended up falling asleep where ever she sat first. That meant she sometimes slept on the bed, sometimes the couch in the parlor, and one time a bench out in the garden.

And then there was the fact that she still had lessons with Pitch every other day. And the infuriating man was still giving her a hard time! True some of the lessons had started to sink in, something that Jacqueline was extremely proud of. It was nice to see that he was showing some effort. However no matter how much she tried to teach him he was still Pitch Black, and no amount of teaching would change that.

However that was never the plan. Jacqueline wasn't trying to completely erase Pitch's personality, after all her was his own person. She was just trying to show him how to control his urges, and balance himself. All she wanted was to help him bring out his better side. Bring back a part of the man he used to be.

Meanwhile she was trying to correspond with the spirits of autumn in order to make sure things ran according to schedule. She had Trick and Treat working out in the pumpkin patch, while her pet jack O'lantern was guarding the candy vaults. On top of that she was still making her daily rounds in order to spread excitement throughout the world. This time of the year was the busiest due to amusement parks and haunted houses, but she wasn't complaining.

Even if the work was hard, it was fulfilling none the less, after all she was the guardian of excitement, and it was the reason for her existence. She may be tired, but she was also content. Although that's not to say she wasn't overwhelmed either. Running around the world and spreading excitement was much more complicated than it sounded.

It was during one of her visits with Valen that the valentine spirit mentioned a brilliant idea. Jacqueline had been telling her how it was hard balancing her job while still trying to prepare lessons for Pitch, Valen had then inquired,

"_Well why don't you ask Pitch to help you out with the preparations? After all you are trying to teach him to be a kinder person, what better a chance then now?" _she paused for a moment before adding, _"and I remember you mentioning that excitement is a balance between fear and fun, this will be the perfect opportunity to teach him how to balance fear."_

Jacqueline's first instinct was to shoot down the idea, not sure how she felt about asking Pitch for help. No doubt he would make fun of her at first and make some kind of joke out of it. However after thinking about it more she began to realize that the idea actually made perfect sense.

Not only did it take some of the pressure of Jacqueline but it would also prove to be a great learning experience for Pitch. It was perfect!

So now the Halloween was waiting, in the parlor for Pitch to come for his lesson. She was setting out a few decorations, such as paper lanterns, candles, and face spiders, waiting for Pitch to walk in. Recently the guardians had been giving him more slack, they were no longer breathing down his neck and escorting him every where her went. Jacqueline had a feeling it had to do with a comment she had made about Pitch's improvement.

The guardians had seemed both shocked and relived by the statement. But it was very obvious that they were still worried about Pitch, and often checked up on him, and watched his movements carefully. They still made sure he showed up for lessons, and made sure they always knew where he was, but other than that he had free reign. He was even allowed to visit his old lair, and sometimes spent the night there, instead of the North Pole.

Of course when Pitch had told her this Jacqueline couldn't help but laugh, because it sound as if he were an unruly teen and he had to check in with his over protective "parents". Pitch had not appreciated her comment and sat scowling at her for a good ten minutes while she recovered from her giggle fit. But who could blame her for laughing at the thought of a rebellious teenage version of the mighty Pitch Black.

She had been doing a lot more of that around Pitch lately. Laughing, that is. Over the past three weeks she had grown more comfortable around him, even going as far as joking around with him at times. They still fought, and had the occasional threatening stare off, but now it seem routine, and it was hard to imagine a day without it.

The sound of the door opening and closing brought the Halloween spirit's attention back to the present. The next sound she heard was her two little helpers calling out to her.

"Mistress Jacquie! Mr. Pitch is here!"

"Okay, thank you!" she called down the hall, "Could you send him in please?"

A few moments later the boogieman himself walked in, his long black coat swishing behind him as he walked. Jacquline couldn't see him because she had her back to the door, but if she had to guess he was probably giving her the _are-you-really-that-crazy_ look. Her suspicions were confirmed when he voiced his question.

"what in the world are you doing?"

Jacqueline had never been the tallest girl, even when she was alive, and that didn't change after she became a spirit. While decorating the parlor she had run into one very irritating problem. She wasn't tall enough to hang most of the paper lanterns. Even though her heels gave her an extra boost it wasn't enough to hang the decorations high enough. Usually she had the help of Trick and Treat, but since they were behind schedule she had sent them to decorate the main hall.

So she came up with her own plan. After gathering a small stool and some of the thickest books she could find, Jacqueline constructed a small tower that she planned to stand on. Now she was balanced precariously on top of said tower, stretching her arm as far as she could in order to hang the pesky paper lantern. The worst part; she still wasn't tall enough.

She was already irritated enough by the lantern, so when she heard Pitch chuckle at her struggles, it just made the situation worse. With an angry flush she snapped at Pitch from over her shoulder,

"Oh, shut up you over grown vampire bat! Just get over here and give me a boost!"

As she yelled at him from on top of her makeshift tower, it shook. Losing her balance Jacqueline was pitched backward. A panicked gasp escaped her throat as she felt herself falling towards the hard ground. She squeezed her eyes shut, her arms shot out to brace for the impact, but it never came.

Carefully she opened her eyes, and realized he was suspended in mid fall. A strong arm was wrapped around her waist in a firm but gentle grip. She looked up and was met by the sight of Pitch's chest. Pitch was crouched over her, his face barely inches away. Jacqueline could feel her heart ratchet out of control. Her breath became shallow, whether this was caused by the fall, or by the fact she was so close to Pitch she could feel the solid muscle beneath his coat, she wasn't sure. But if she had to guess it would have been the latter.

When he hoisted her to her feet, she squeaked and instinctually wrapped her arms around Pitch's lean form to recover her balance, flushing bright red at the sudden closeness. He lifted her as if she weighed nothing, and placed her back on her feet. Feeling the muscles beneath his shirt move and strain caused Jacqueline to feel a bit light headed._ He has such a nice figure, tall, not to thick, with lean muscles. It's nice._

_Oh god. Did I just think that? What's wrong with me? Bad Jacquie! Bad!_

Her sudden light headedness made it hard for Jacqueline to regain her balance, causing her to stumble ever so slightly. It wasn't that bad, well, at least not until Pitch put both his hand on her waist to help steady her, inadvertently causing them to press closer together.

Pitches watched her stumble and finally after a moment regain her balance. Her face was hidden by her bangs, her head level with his chest. He had never noticed how short she was till now, in a way he found it endearing.

He felt her Pitch felt the woman's fingers griping the fabric on his back, unintentionally dragging them down his spine, but it caused him to shudder and tighten his grip, squeezing the curve of her hip. She blushed and gasped startled by the sudden tightness around her waist. She looked up at him with wide, stunned, golden eyes.

_She should be careful how she looks at people, she's too damn striking._ He thought swallowing thickly. Carefully he released her from his grip, leaving them both with a strange feeling of loss. Jacqueline had a sudden urge to bury her face in his chest. _No! All he did was catch me! Nothing more! Calm down don't over react!_ Her brain instantly screamed. Of course, right, all he did was catch her…right? Quickly composing herself, Jacqueline cleared her throat.

"Um, thank you… sorry about that, I just couldn't hang that pesky lantern…" she said quickly trying to change the subject.

Pitch bent down and picked up the lantern from where it had fallen earlier. He walked over to the wall Jacqueline had been at before, carefully bypassing her haphazardous tower of books. Easily he stretched is arm upwards hanging the lantern from its assigned hook on the wall. Jacqueline scowled at his back, _stupid tall people._

"There now that it's up you won't have to try and kill yourself with stupid stunts like that," he said while jerking his thumb in the direction of Jacqueline's "_tower_"

Jacqueline smirked then turned around, rummaging around in a box behind her. Pitch watched her curiously. When she turned around she held a pile of lanterns in her arms.

"Sorry Pitchy, but you've got sixteen more to go." she said with a mischievous grin.

Pitch scowled at the woman in front of him, "last time I checked it wasn't my job to decorate your home" he snapped.

Jacqueline gave an irritated pout, "yes that's true, but this is part of the lesson sooo here!"

Jacqueline stepped forward, shoving the pile of lanterns into Pitch's arms.

"What?! No! Do it yourself!"

Pitch's scowl grew deeper, and he quickly shoved the pile back into the Halloween spirits arms. With which she responded by promptly shoving it back into his arms, and so began their shoving match. It lasted about two minutes before Jacqueline had an idea.

"Okay fine ill do it myself," she said innocently

Pitch raised his brow at her; he hadn't been expecting her to surrender so easily, she was up to something. Jacqueline took the pile from him and stalked over to the wall.

"I'll do it, but you see I'm so short I guess I'll just have to use a couple more books, jee I hope I don't fall again…" her faux innocent tone was only extenuated when she gave Pitch an overly dramatic bat of her eyes.

_Oh! I see, she's trying to guilt trip me! Well sorry sweetheart it's not going to work,_ Pitch smirked triumphantly. There was no way he would fall for that.

"Fine, go ahead and do it. I don't care." He said nonchalantly. As he said that he began inspecting his nails, as if he would find some kind of hidden treasure there.

Jacqueline gapped at him. He didn't even care if she fell again! What a jerk! Fine, if he didn't want to help she was perfectly capable of doing it herself. She stormed over to the parlor table, and grabbed three more books from it. She quickly added them to the stack on the stool, and prepared to climb on.

Meanwhile Pitch watched intently. Was she really going to do it? Hadn't she learned her lesson the first time? As he watched her begin to climb the stack, Pitch groaned, realizing he would have to step in.

Jacqueline was determined now, she would show him! She was already half way up the stack when she felt an arm around her waist. The arm pulled her away from the unsteady tower, and placed her on the ground.

"Wait wha-" Jacqueline was cut off by Pitch taking the lanterns out of her arms.

"Honestly you can be so childish," the man scowled without looking at her.

Pitch began hanging the lanterns from the many hooks that where placed around the room. Jacqueline watched with a shocked expression as he walked around quickly placing the lanterns in their assigned holds. She hadn't actually expected him to help, but now here he was decorating the parlor, all because she had almost fallen. Why? Why did he care? Why was it that every time she was with Pitch he just seemed to confuse her further, and further?

_The more I'm around him the more confused I get!_

After Pitch was finished with the lanterns he turned towards the befuddled woman. Placing his hand behind his back Pitch looked down at her.

"You know it's a bit sad that you can't even hang Halloween decorations. I mean it's a bit pathetic for a Halloween spirit to have such a disadvantage. Don't you think?" he smirked at her.

Jacqueline scowled at the taller man. How dare him! The only reason she was having a hard time was because she was behind schedule! And that was because she had been so busy trying to teach Pitch!

"We'll excuse me! We can't all be as tall as you! And for your information the only reason I have to decorate the parlor alone is because I don't have Trick and Treat to help. We are all scrambling to finish because _your_ lessons have set us behind schedule!"

This little outburst seemed to make Pitch think for a moment, and then his grin grew wider.

"Well then it seems I'm better at causing trouble than I thought."

Jacqueline let out and exasperated groan. She would have liked nothing more than to wipe that stupid smile off Pitch's face. Honestly he had the nerve to call Jacqueline childish, but he was even worse than her. The worst part was that no matter what Jacqueline said to him she never seemed to be able to win. He always had some kind of snarky come back or saying.

Deciding to just ignore the dark spirit, Jacqueline grabbed the box of decorations and stomped towards the door. Pitch looked at her curiously, having no idea where she was headed.

"Where are you going to now?"

Jacqueline stopped at the door, she didn't even bother to turn and face the boogieman.

"I'm going to go decorate the ballroom you are welcome to join me, but your _bad attitude_ is _not_ invited to come with you." She barked over her shoulder.

With that she stormed off down the hall way leaving a scowling boogieman behind her. As he watched her go her words finally settled in his mind. _A ballroom? I had no idea she even had one. Why in the world would she need one…in fact why does she live in such a huge house? The only other ones who live here are those children. _He also remembered her mentioning a pet of some sort; however he had yet to see it. As he pondered these questions his feet unconsciously began to follow the dark haired woman.

Suddenly he paused as another thought hit him, _wait, did she say I had a bad attitude?!_

Pitch looked up at this realization fully prepared to whip out a malicious remark, but when he saw what lay in front of him he paused. Jacqueline stood before him balancing the box on her hip using one of her arms to steady it, with the other arms she propped open the ballroom doors. It was through the doors which Pitch stepped, where the sight of dreams lay.

The ballroom was a massive room that could have fit at least a hundred people. The farthest wall was made of a giant widow that was bordered by luxurious curtains, all consisting of deep reds and violets. Through the glass the thick forests and meadows that bordered the manor could be seen. The burning colors of the setting sun filled the room making everything glitter with an almost magical feeling. Most of the colors in the ballroom where dark and rich contrasting with the pastel shades provided by the sun which filtered through and reflected upon the glossy tile floors, casting dancing shadows across the walls.

Dozens of giant chandeliers were suspended above their heads, their long brass arms stretching out wards holding bundles of crystals. The crystals hung down brushing together with light chimes, the light that shinned on them caused thousands of rainbow shards to dance alongside the shadows on the walls. Together they dance over huge marble pillars carved with intricate figurines and embellishments, spinning and gliding to a song only they could hear.

"I take it you like the ballroom?" a soft voice echoed from behind Pitch.

The nightmare king turned to face Jacqueline who had been watching him drink in the sights. She smiled at him and began to walk to the center of the room, her steps echoing across the marble floors. Pitch watched as the sun silhouetted her form as she set down the box. The Halloween spirit didn't wait for pitches answer before she asked another question.

"You're probably wondering what I need such a large room for aren't you?" she inquired while looking up at him.

"The thought had crossed my mind" Pitch confessed.

Looking up at the high ceiling Pitch realized and a beautiful night sky was painted across the roof complete with silver stars and a crescent moon. _She certainly didn't overlook and details,_ he thought to himself. He looked at Jacqueline, who was crouched by the box rummaging through its contents.

"Why _do_ you need ballroom? In fact why did you create such a large house in the first place?" he asked her.

Jacqueline blushed and refused to look at Pitch. Instead she just continued digging in the box hoping to buy herself sometime.

"Well… I do admit it's a bit excessive…" she said finally realizing she would have to answer sooner or later.

"You'll probably think I'm silly for telling you this… but the truth is that this house was what me and my sister dreamt about as children…"

Pitch looked at her in shock. It wasn't often spirits talked about their past lives. Often the memories where to painful to speak of, or the memories were so old they had begun to fade. Jacqueline however, had actually built an entire manor based of those distant memories, a constant reminder of the life that she lost over three hundred years ago. Pitch looked at her wonderingly.

"You said it was your sister and yours dream? Why your sister?"

Jacqueline fiddled with her fingers anxiously, "well when we were younger we always had this dream that we would both fall in love with men and have children, and then we would all live together in a huge house, like an extend family, you know?" she blushed at how childish she sounded.

"And the ballroom was because we both loved to dance." She added at the end.

Pitch raised a brow at her incredulously, "you dance?"

Jacqueline stood from her crouching position, and glared at Pitch. She wasn't too fond of his disbelieving tone. Placing her hand on her hips, Jacqueline turned to face Pitch.

"Yes I dance, is that so hard to believe?"

"Well after witnessing your unbalanced performance this morning, I would have to say yes." Pitch laughed at her.

"Well I'll have you know I was one of the best dancers in the town." Jacqueline smiled proudly. Her dancing skills were one of the few things Jacqueline had felt confident about as a child.

Pitch burst out laughing; somehow he had an extremely hard time picturing the female spirit in front of him dancing. Not after all the countless trips, falls, and jumps he'd witnessed.

"Whoever told you that was obviously lying to spare you feelings." Pitch snickered.

Jacqueline's temper flared to new found heights. She refused to stand by and let him insult one of the few happy childhood memories she had. For a moment her common sense was clouded by rage and she stalked towards the laughing boogieman. _If he refuses to believe me I'll just have to show him!_

When Pitch finally noticed the angry woman in front of him she had already grabbed his arm and dragged him across the dance floor, away from the decorating supplies. He looked down at the shorter woman, whose face was scrunched into a ball of determined fury.

"What in the world do you think you're you doing!" Pitch growled snatching his arm out of her grasp.

Jacqueline whipped around jabbing a thin finger into Pitch's chest. The two golden eyes met his glowed with angry ferocity.

"Can you dance?" she questioned sharply.

Pitch frowned down at her irritatedly, "I have been around since before the man in the moon was even born, I have witnessed the birth and deaths of countless civilizations, _of course I can dance_." He hissed, shoving her finger away from his chest.

Jacqueline rolled her eyes at his presentation, "a simple yes would have sufficed."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Pitch looked at her inquiringly.

"I'm going to prove to you I can dance, that should shut you up for a while." Jacqueline said crossing her arms over her chest.

"How do you expect to prove yourself?" Pitch asked, however he had a feeling he already knew. His suspicious were confirmed when the Halloween spirit smiled and spoke.

"We are going to dance," Jacqueline stated bluntly, "the waltz to be precise."

"Oh you have got to be kidding me" Pitch dead panned

Leaning forward Jacqueline looked Pitch dead in the eye, as if daring him to challenge her. Without breaking eye contact Jacqueline snapped her fingers, the snap echoed through the ballroom. As it reverberated of the walls it slowly morphed slowly changing until a song could be heard.

As the song drifted through the massive room, Pitch momentarily wondered how she had done it. However when he looked down at the woman in front of him the question drifted from his mind. Jacqueline's glowing eyes were still locked on his when she grinned.

"Scared?" she asked quietly.

Pitch grinned recognizing the question. He took the hand she offered to him, placing his other hand on the small of her back. She responded by slipping her hand onto his shoulder.

"Not at all." He smiled at her.

He pulled her close and began to glide along the floor, quickly picking up the beat of the song. As he whisked her around and around, Jacqueline kept in step. She arched her back gliding along with the melody, dipping gracefully.

Jacqueline let out a content sigh as a familiar dizzy feeling settled in her mind. She loved to dance but she hadn't really gotten the chance to dance with a partner since…well since she died actually. They spun across the floor soundlessly, following the rhythm and beat of the music.

The tempo jumped and Jacqueline quickened her steps as Pitch glided around her, soon they were moving so smoothly that it seemed they were one with the air. Pitch momentarily released his hold on Jacqueline's hip and they trotted across the floor, their intertwined hands held high. The nightmare king pulled Jacqueline back into his arms and as they regained their spinning motion, he spun her away and swept her into the next step, gliding across the room hand in hand. Elegantly they slid moving in sync with each other.

If Pitch ever had to admit he was wrong, now would be the time. Jacqueline kept every beat, every dip, and every step, all while remaining poised and graceful. She stayed in perfect sync with him, letting him guide her across the floor effortlessly, as they traipsed over the decadent marble floor. Their staccato footsteps echoed along the tiles, adding a soft, but upbeat effect to the song.

They danced without words, spinning around and around so gracefully, it seemed like their feet never touched the ground. Their eyes met and the Halloween spirit smiled up at Pitch. It wasn't a snarky smile that said_ I told you so, _but instead it was a happy smile that seemed to say _isn't this fun?_ Pitch leaned Jacqueline back into a dip, her outer leg extended, arching to an easy point. The joy that glittered in her eyes seemed to dance along with them, and then something began to jump in Pitch's chest.

He felt a laugh bubble deep in his throat, and Jacqueline's light giggles joined him. Pitch could honestly say he was enjoying himself. He swept her up from the dip and spun her around, holding her close to his chest. She shot him a huge silly smile, as they became more and more engrossed in the rhythm, forgetting all about the world around them. At this moment there were no lessons, no guardians, no holiday deadlines, just them and the music

The end of the song was drawing near, and they began to prepare for the finishing move. Jacqueline's heart raced as the excitement and bliss filled her senses, as the dark specter whisked her about to the flow of the song. She smiled up at the boogie man, and his returning grin sent butterflies into her stomach. Her soft form seemed to meld perfectly with his as the danced. Lifting his arm Pitch sent the dark haired woman into a delicate spin, and as her twirl began to slow he caught her and they continued their movements.

As the tempo finally reached its climax Pitch lowered his hands, and wrapped his fingers around Jacqueline's waist. Using the momentum of their spin he lifted her effortlessly. He held her there, spinning her as the music began to fade. Gently he lowered her back down his hands resting on her hips.

Laughing, Jacqueline wrapped her arms around Pitch's neck, still dizzy from the spinning. They rested there for a moment, both breathing heavily, both wearing smiles, as they rested against each other. The dark haired woman began to laugh, she looked up at Pitch, prepared to make a silly quip about their dancing. But when their eyes met her words seemed to die on her tongue.

Pitch's eyes glowed with that same hungry gaze, the gaze that always seemed to make Jacqueline melt. However this time she had no chance at resisting, because not only were their faces mere inches apart, but he had his fingers circled around his waist, and her arms wound around his shoulders. Suddenly she was glad that she was clinging to him, because her knees suddenly gave out beneath her. The sudden inability to stand caused Pitch to wrap his arms around her entirely in an attempt to steady her; the action caused him to pull Jacqueline flush against his chest.

But still his eyes remained locked on hers, spellbound. Jacqueline could feel her pulse quicken as she felt Pitch's breath mingle with hers. No matter how hard she tried Jacqueline just couldn't tear her eyes away from the man in front of her. Pitch's hand grazed across her spine causing her to shudder and sigh. The Halloween spirits mind was a complete haze, the only focus she could hold was on the nightmare kings eyes.

_Oh god, what's happening. _A single thought trickled through the haze.

Pitch looked at the woman in his arms equally confused, and equally entranced. Never had he ever had such a strong desire to simply hold someone the way he did now. The way her body fit perfectly in his arms, the way her eyes gleamed, and her face flushed with color. The way her lips curved in to a surprised "_O"_ … it was all so enticing.

Jacqueline's eye lids began to droop and slowly she began to lean close, despite the sudden wave of anxiety that washed over her. Her head was reeling, her entire body tingled, caught between an urge to simply run from the room and the need to press herself up against the broad chest in front of her.

In turn Pitch began to lean down to meet Jacqueline. He pulled her even closer, suddenly overly aware of every curve and dip of Jacqueline's body. Their lips where barely an inch away from each other, almost touching….

"Oh there you are mistress Jacquie! We've been looking for you!"

Jacqueline's eyes flew open as she gasped. She tore herself away from Pitch, an equally panicked look reflected in his eyes. Looking towards the door she spotted Trick and Treat staring at them curiously, completely oblivious to the scene that they had walked in on.

"Trick, Treat what's going on?" Jacqueline asked breathlessly.

"The guardians are here for Mr. Black, we tried calling you but I guess you didn't hear us." Treat answered, looking between Pitch and Jacqueline suspiciously.

"Ah…" Jacqueline said in a daze, "I guess you right, could you take Pi-Mr. Black out to meet them."

Treat looked at her mistress in surprise, usually she walked Mr. Black out, and often they would talk and converse along the way. It was unusual for Mistress Jacquie to simply send her guest away.

"Aren't you coming with us?" Trick asked after coming to the same conclusion as his sister.

"Uh no I- I should probably clean up this mess." she said while gesturing towards the pile of decorations on the floor.

The two imps looked at each other and shrugged dismissively. Lately their mistress had been acting very strangely. The just chalked it up to the stress of work and a backed up schedule.

Pitch looked at Jacqueline, but she refused to meet his gaze. _What happened? They had been so close…so close to what exactly?_ He frowned in confusion. Looking at the woman, he realized it was no use questioning her now, not with the two children in the room. He turned and followed the imps out of the room, but not before glancing back at the Halloween spirit one last time.

When he finally left Jacqueline shut the door behind him. She turned and leaned against the thick wooden frame. She slumped down to the floor, and sat there staring down at the floor. Unconsciously her fingers rose to her lips, which burned against her finger tips. Her heart still fluttered in her chest causing her breath to come out in short shaky breaths.

Unlike Pitch, Jacqueline knew exactly what had just happened, and that was what scared her most.

_I almost kissed Pitch Black!_

* * *

**The other OC's I got were also very creative and wonderful and truthfully I had such a hard time picking **** but I will still give mention to those who sent them in….**

_**Talia Quinn**_

_**Big fan**_

_OliverUndead69 (sorry cuzy DX)_

_**Movillishion**_

_**And the Guest who sent the original request.**_

**I think that is it, sorry if I missed you! Thank you for all your wonderful reviews, they mean the world to me really **** and for those of you who didn't get your OC chosen I have to say I'm very sorry I just couldn't fit all the amazing ideas into the story **** but don't give up! I already have a fanfic planned after this but it's a secret, and I refuse to begin work on it until I am completely finished with this one. Don't forget to review! XOXOXOXO**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: YAY! I'm so glad everyone liked the last chapter! Thanks for all the awesome reviews! **

**Check out my deviantart account! There are pics of Jacquie, Pitch, Valen, the Imps, and now I'm working on the OCs. The link is on my profile. Also just to clarify, the OC's I chose for the story were:**

**April****Showers**** and ****May****Flowers** by _Kiara Lee Phoenix_

**Ankou**_**Kieran**_by _The Dangerous One_

And **Eris **by _ObsidianLove_

* * *

Valen watched as Jacqueline sat staring at her tea listlessly. She had been sitting there for a good half hour and had yet to say anything. She had appeared in Valens's sitting room completely unannounced, dazed, flushed and completely out of sorts. Valen had ordered her some tea, hoping to knock her out of her shocked stupor; however her friend didn't take so much as a sip.

The spirit of love knew better than to pry; she trusted that her friend would eventually find her voice, and tell her what the problem was. So they sat there silently, the red headed spirit patiently watching her friend. Occasionally Valen would attempt to lighten the mood by making light comments about the weather, her job, and other trivial matters.

Eventually Jacqueline set down her cup, and opened her mouth, as if to say something. But no sound escaped her throat; instead she just sat there opening and closing her mouth, trying desperately to find the right words.

How could she explain what was on her mind? How could she make sense of the jumbled thoughts, and words? Suddenly Valen cleared her throat, deciding to take mercy on the befuddled Halloween spirit.

"how about we make it easy for you," she began, "on the count of three just blurt out the first thought that stands out in your mind, don't think, just talk."

Jacqueline frowned pensively, a fresh wave on anxiety washing over her. She thought for a moment before looking Valen straight in the eye and nodding. Valen smiled encouragingly at her friend before beginning the countdown.

"One…"

Jacqueline bit her lip nervously. _What will she think of me when I tell her? Will she be upset? She's my friend she'll understand…won't she?_

"Two…"

_Oh god…I'm not ready…_ she steeled her nerves and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"three-"

"I almost kissed Pitch!" Jacqueline practically screamed.

"_WHAT!" _Valen shot out of her seat in a flurry of gauzy skirts and layers. Light shone in Valen's bright pink eyes. Whether this light meant something good, or something bad, Jacqueline couldn't tell. The valentine spirit quickly crossed the room in one long stride. In a split second she went from her seat across the room to the cushion next to her dark haired friend.

"I want every detail young lady, and don't even think about leaving out the juicy bits."

Jacqueline gapped at her friend in disbelief, _she couldn't possibly be serious! _ She had just told the valentine spirit something that could have been considered the most insane news of the century. Meanwhile the red headed spirit acted as if they were two school girls talking about a cut boy at school! _What if she knew?_ A voice in the back of her head chimed, _she's the spirit of romance. If she didn't know then that could mean that the "almost kiss" wasn't meaningful… right? _Her mind echoed hopefully.

"Valen," Jacqueline frowned," if anything romantic happened between me and Pitch wouldn't you know? So that means it was nothing right?"

"Sorry honey," Valen snorted in a very unlady like manner and looked Jacqueline straight in the eye, "it doesn't work that way."

Jacqueline's shoulders slumped at this comment. Why couldn't anything just be easy? Jacqueline wanted nothing more than to throw her arms in the air and curse the world. Then maybe after her rant she could find a nice dark hole to crawl into and sleep in for the rest of eternity.

"But why?" the Halloween spirit moaned, "Why doesn't it work that way? I thought you were the guardian of love and romance and all that is fluffy!"

Valen raised a brow at the last part and grinned at her friend. Sometimes Jacqueline could act so absolutely wise, spewing out philosophy and knowledge that made her seem a million years old. Then there were other times when she was so naïve and confused it nearly gave the valentine spirit whiplash.

"I am the guardian of love," Valen said, "but even my powers have limits, just like yours. For instance, I can't make just anyone fall in love. They have to be compatible in the first place. I can set them up, I can give them a nudge in the form of a golden arrow, but in reality it all comes down to them. I can't force love on anyone," she paused giving Jacqueline a once over, "and I certainly can't sense every romantic moment across the globe. Can _you_ sense the excitement of every single person in the world?"

Jacqueline frowned knowing her friend was right, and hating every moment of it. Valen watched her pouting friend and couldn't help but smile. It was so strange that she was surprised about this new development, especially when Valen had called it out in its early stages.

"Don't say I didn't warn you. From day one I told you about the attraction between each other, it's not my fault you ignored it."

"So you knew all along about…about me and…," Jacqueline blushed unable to finish the sentence. Asking about Pitch and hers compatibility would be like admitting that this whole situation was real, it would be like admitting that she did have feeling for the boogieman, and at the moment she just wasn't sure she could handle such a confession.

Lucky for her she never needed to. Valen being Valen already knew both the question and answer. Her expression softened and she placed a hand over Jacqueline's.

"Honey there are hundreds of people in the world, and there are so many compatible matches," she explained, "just because two people are compatible doesn't mean their meant to be together."

"So me and … Pitch are...?" Jacqueline felt a knot build in her stomach.

Valen nodded, "well yes, but when this all started you guys couldn't even stand to be in the same room together, I never thought that your compatibility would progress into…more..Especially so quickly. At most I thought that maybe it would be a kind of _puppy love_. But I guess you where right, Pitch really is a beast."

The expression on Jacqueline's face caused the valentine spirit to burst out in laughter. That last comment had caused the poor Halloween spirit to turn a ghastly shade of red. A satisfying knot settled in Valens gut due to the extent of her laughter. Jacqueline scowled at her friend, though it had little effect since she looked like an overgrown tomato. Valen grinned, wiping a tear out of her eye.

"Now with that aside, let's get down to business."

Jacqueline's dark brows knit together, and she looked at Valen in a confused manner, having no idea what the valentine spirit was talking about. Jacqueline was still unhappy about her friend's last innuendo. In fact she was still processing the fact the Valen had admitted that Pitch and she had grown to be…what? Valen rolled her eyes at her friend's confused expression. _Honestly some people are just downright clueless about romance._

"The _almost kiss_! What happened? How did it start? What was it like? Give me details!" Valen grabbed her friend by the shoulders and gave her a light joking shake.

The Halloween spirit laughed at her friend's antics, but soon fell quiet again. She thought back to the day before, a day that seemed so recent but at the same time so long ago. She thought of those two silvery-gold eyes that seemed to trap her in that moment, and stole her breath away. Those lean sinewy arms wrapped tightly around her anchoring her when she felt as if the world was spinning. A blush crept across her face as the images flashed through her mind.

She looked at Valen who was watching her expectantly. She needed to get all of this of her chest, and what better way than to vent to the spirit of love? With that thought she took a deep breath and began,

"I'm not really sure how it all started…we were…he…we were decorating the ball room and he made a comment about me '_not being able to dance'. _I… I just… wanted to prove him wrong, I wasn't really thinking…be started dancing, and it was...fun. The most fun I have had in a while…" she looked to the side, a little more than embarrassed about her little escapade.

"One minute we were dancing, and laughing…the next…not so much…I don't even know how it got to that point, things just got so…out of hand."

Valen nodded, a knowing smile painted across her features. "I see…well then go on, what was it like?"

Jacqueline tried to think of ways to put the experience into words, but try as she might she just couldn't. Nothing could describe the feeling that flooded through her system when Pitch looked at her with those scorching eyes of his. There were too many feelings, to many thoughts to put in to words. The intensity of the situation was just impossible to describe.

"I'm not sure how to describe it," she said.

Valen looked at her friend stunned into silence. Not because of Jacqueline's lack of words but rather her sudden change in appearance. Jacqueline's eyes had begun to glow, pulsing with intense golden light. Suddenly Valen had a hunch of what had caused the sudden change in her friend, but there was only one way to test her theory.

"Jacqueline," she caught her friends attention, "if you could choose one word, just one, to describe what it feels like being with Pitch, what would it be?" she said, being sure to word her question carefully.

The dark spirit thought for her moment, clueless that her eyes pulsing with unseen power. All of a sudden her eyes flash as a thought struck her. A grin crept along her lips, and she slowly turned to face her friend.

"It's…Exciting." A familiar flutter filled her chest.

A knowing smile tugged at Valens painted lips. _When I'm right, I'm really right!_ A giddy sensation wiggled its way into the valentine spirits mind. If she were a more immature, juvenile version of herself she would have jumped up and started singing, "Jacquie and Pitch sitting in a tree, k.i.s.s.i.n.g!"

However she got the distinct feeling that her friend wouldn't appreciate her musical solo. So no matter how happy she was for her naïve friend she would have to control herself until the time was right. Or at least until she was confident that the Halloween spirit wasn't going to turn her into a Jack o' lantern.

A knock sounded for the door effectively distracting both women from their trains of thought. Valen looked up at the sound from her place on the plush sofa.

"Come in." she called over her shoulder.

The door opened half way, enough for a small cherub face poked through the crack. The tiny cupid fluttered towards the valentine spirit. In its hand it carried a golden envelope sealed with a red wax seal in the shape of a heart.

"An express note sent form Shadow Manor 'mam." It chimed in a childish voice.

Jacqueline's brows furrowed at this comment, as Valen reached out to take the note. Why would Trick and Treat need to send an express note? Express notes where quick messages that could be sent in the blink of an eye, and were often used by spirits in the case of an emergency where immediate help or attendance where needed. If the imps had sent a note to Jacqueline through Valen that meant that they needed an immediate reply.

"What does the note say?" Jacqueline leaned forward, hoping to catch a glimpse of the message scrawled across the page.

Valen read the letter her face becoming more and more pinched as she continued to read. Finally she began rereading the note, this time reading out loud.

"_To Mistress Jacquie,_

_ The guardians have stopped by to inform you that an emergency meeting has been called at the North Pole. Since you where not at the manor we have been asked to send you this express note, along with the sense of urgency that they wished to convey. They apologies for the short notice, however the circumstances of the meeting are very serious. A note has also been sent to Mr. Black and the guardians request your immediate response._

_ Trick & Treat"_

After reading the signatures at the bottom Valen looked up, confused painted across her features. She handed the note to Jacqueline who reread it one last time to make sure she had actually heard it right.

"Emergency meeting?" she looked up at Valen, half expecting the gossip of the spirit world to know what said meeting was about.

However Valen simply shrugged, showing she had just as much knowledge on the topic as the confused Halloween spirit. Jacqueline frowned, not liking the fact that she was going into the situation blind. She looked down at the note and blushed as a certain line jumped out at her.

"…_A note has also been sent to Mr. Black…"_

Couldn't she catch just one break? Why did things just have to keep rolling in, one after another? It felt as if her life was such a mess she could barley breath without incident. Ever since the guardians had gotten involved in her life things just became more and more complicated. First the lessons, next the delayed Halloween preparations, then this _thing _with Pitch, and now some kind of mystery emergency meeting! What's next flying monkeys?!

With a groan Jacqueline sunk deeper into her seat, wishing it would swallow her whole, and take her away from all the madness in her life. Pity filled Valens gaze as she watched her friend, imagining the overwhelming stress that she must be going through. She wished she could help, wished she could do more than just give her advice and try to lighten the mood with jokes. Unfortunately there was no magic elixir that could make everything all better, at least not one that came without a hideous price. Valen placed her hand on Jacqueline's shoulder and smiled comfortingly at her. She couldn't make all the problems disappear, however she could support her friend.

"Don't worry, I promise eventually things will fall back in to order. And until then at least you've got me and the imps. And if Pitch tries anything just tell me and I'll make him fall in love with a donkey."

"I thought you couldn't force people to fall in love." Jacqueline smiled at her friend. Valen shrugged, a mischievous smile creeping across her face.

"I'll shoot him twice for good measure."

They laughed for a bit, joking about a wedding featuring Pitch and his lovely donkey bride. He would wear his best black tux and watch as his bride clippity-clopped down the aisle, and after the ceremony Pitch would ride off into the sunset on his wife's' back, with a huge banner reading "just married" trailing behind them.

By the end of their little joke session Valen had Jacqueline in tears. The poor Halloween spirit was doubled over in laughter in the middle of a wheezing fit.

"Oh god I can't breathe!" she was able to choke out between her laughter.

Valen gave a relived smile as she watched her friend. _I may not be able to fix all the problems in the world but at least I can make her smile when she needs it._ Jacqueline's laughter quieted as she watched the valentine spirit stand from her chair. She gave Valen a curious look that caused the red head to role her eyes.

"Aren't you forgetting something? If I remember correctly it was something _urgent._" Valen pointed to the envelope still in Jacqueline's hands, and quirked her eyebrow at the dark haired woman.

"Oh!" Jacqueline glanced at the letter, "I guess you're right I should get going!"

She sighed dejectedly, but her smile never truly left her face. Looking at Valen she stood, tucking the letter into her corset. It would be bad if the news of a mysterious emergency got out, who knows how people would handle this information. Valen may have been the gossip girl of the spirit realm, but she knew when and how to keep a secret. Smiling she faced her friend and pulled her into a surprise hug.

Valen froze surprised by the sudden embrace, but quickly recovered and returned the hug. A thoughtful laugh bubbled in her chest and found its way out her mouth as she wrapped her arms around her friend.

"What's with the PDA?" she asked. Jacqueline smiled and pulled away from the embrace to look at Valen.

"Thank you. I know you worry about me, and you always try to help me, and I just want…well I…" Jacqueline sighed and shook her head, "thank you."

Valen stood there shocked. Jacqueline and her had been friends for over a hundred years, and that whole time she never told Jacqueline about her inner turmoils and worries, but it turns out she never needed too. Jacqueline already knew, and she was grateful for everything.

A warm feeling filled Valens chest and she returned Jacqueline's smile. She pulled the Halloween spirit back into another hug.

"No…thank you." She pulled away keeping her hands on Jacqueline's shoulders, "now you better run off to your meeting."

"Ugh don't remind me!" Jacqueline groaned dramatically, unable to hide her smile. She pretended to sag her shoulders while she summoned a portal directed to the North Pole.

"Oh shoo you!" Valen laughed, pushing her friend towards the glowing portal.

Jacqueline giggled at her friend and turned towards the portal. Suddenly the sinking feeling she got when she read the letter returned tenfold. Before she had tried to ignore it, but now as she stood in front of the technicolored gateway to the North Pole she had no choice but to face it.

"…_A note has also been sent to Mr. Black…"_

_He's going to be there…..am I ready?_

Suddenly a voice broke into her thoughts leaving no room for doubts.

_You're going to have to be ready, whether you like it or not._

And as she stepped through the portal she knew, whether she liked it or not the voice was right.

* * *

Pitch paced the hallways of his lair for the hundredth time that day. He was antsy, something that almost never happened to him. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn't stay still. It felt as if someone had plugged him in to an electrical outlet, and now he could feel the energy coiling in his stomach, trying to force its way out. The only problem was that no matter what he did it was never enough to clear his mind of the one thing occupying it.

_A delicate frame, wrapped in porcelain skin and soft curves. Long raven locks flowing and twisting to fiery tips, giving the illusion of a flame. Wide golden eyes stared up at him, pulling him in, dragging him deeper into the molten oblivion. So close, bodies melding together, so close-_

_No!_ He shook his head violently, trying to rid his mind of the treacherous thoughts. He refused to let such images creep in to his head…but still they managed to leak through his mental barriers.

_A flushed face so close to his he could feel the heat radiating from the milky skin. His eyes fell upon a pair of quivering lips, rosy, plump and tempting. For a brief moment he wondered if maybe they were as sweet as they looked. What would it be like to swoop down and steal just a moment with those lips, to claim them if only for a moment-_

_No! No! No! Stop it!_ The nightmare king groaned and ran his hands through his hair. Frustration dogged his every step, causing the tension in his shoulders to grow with every passing moment. The thoughts in his head were making him even more confused than before. _Why do I keep seeing those images? What happened? Why did it happened? Why can't I ever control myself when ever that infernal woman is involved?_

_Why is it I find her so captivating? _

These questions rolled around in Pitch's head, demanding answers where none could be found. Yet there was a nagging sensation, one that he refused to acknowledge. It told him something, something he didn't want to hear.

_You know why, you just refuse to open your eyes._

Pitch dragged his hands down his face. Mentally he imagined that his last thought was a piece of paper, and he imagined that he was ripping it in to tiny pieces and tossing it in the air, forgotten… but not really. He doubted that the parasitic thought could be killed so easily.

"Something troubling you Pitch?"

The voice sounded from the dark, echoing through the enormous caverns that Pitch called home. Part of him was glad for the voice. It saved him from the rest of his thoughts that threatened to drive him insane. However another part of him was pissed. He didn't take kindly to intruders, and whoever it was had caught him in a very bad mood.

"Who's there?!" he snarled into the shadows.

At first nothing happened, but then a figure began to form from out of the darkness. It was a boy. His face was shrouded by his hat, and a long brown leather cloak was wrapped around his body. But his wide gray-blue eyes were still visible, watching the boogieman intently.

"Ankou?"Pitch looked at the boy in front of him.

He and the young man had a bit of a past together. Ankou had helped him cause mischief a few times, scaring a few kids, starting urban ghost tales, things like that. But the boy had never been willing to cause more serious damage. That was why although they were on neutral terms with each other, they never really talked. So why was he here now?

"Why are you here Ankou? What business do you have in my lair?"He snapped.

While he harbored no harsh feelings toward the boy, Pitch couldn't say that they were the best of friends. He was almost positive that Ankou felt the same way. If the boy was here of his own free will that must have meant he wanted something, and Pitch wasn't in a very giving mood.

"I just have a question for you, and I also have some news that I think you'll be interested in."

Pitch raised a brow at the dark spirit. What kind of news did he have to offer? He thought for a moment before nodding at Ankou, signaling for him to continue. Why not listen? He had nothing to lose from answering a few questions, and everything to gain from listening to Ankou's news.

"Alright I'm listening."

Ankou nodded and began, "so…what have you been up to lately?"

Pitch looked at Ankou as if he had grown a second head. He hadn't been sure what to expect out of the question, but _that_ certainly wasn't it. It seemed too casual, especially for the spirit of darkness. The question its self must have been double edged.

Pitch narrowed his eyes at the dark spirit. "Why the sudden interest in my personal life?"

Ankou shrugged nonchalantly, "just curious."

Pitch snorted, "Ha! I've known you long enough to know that you don't go nosing about in other peoples business just because you're _curious_. If you asked, that means you know something I don't, and now you're checking your information."

Ankou didn't bat an eye, but he gave a small nod. The boogieman was right, and Ankou knew better than to dig himself a deeper hole by lying to Pitch. It wouldn't do him any good denying what Pitch already knew.

"Alright, yes you're right…"he sighed admittedly.

Pitch smiled, feeling a bit pleased with himself. However now he was more curious than anything. What could Ankou possibly know that he didn't, and why would he need to know Pitch's alibi? What could possibly be important enough for the spirit of darkness to venture into the boogieman's lair?

Suddenly an ominous feeling settled in the air. Something about this entire set up seemed horribly wrong. Under normal circumstances Pitch wouldn't have minded a little trouble. This time however he had no idea what was going on, and he didn't care much for situations he had no control of. Ankou showing up here out of the blue screamed nothing but trouble.

"Ankou…" Pitch's expression became deadly serious, "why are you really here?"

The dark spirit shifted his weight nervously, refusing to meet Pitch's menacing gaze at first. Then finally he turned his troubled gray-blue eyes towards the nightmare king.

"Something's happened. But there's not a lot of information available, I was just curious if you knew something…..or if you were involved."

Pitch frowned, though he did understand that Ankou's suspicions were warranted. He usually was the first suspect when things went awry. However the guardians were usually the first ones to investigate, so why was Ankou here? He needed more information.

"What's happened? And I don't want to hear any of this '_there's not a lot of information'_ crap. Tell me what you know." Pitch took a threatening step towards Ankou.

To the credit of the shorter spirit, he didn't even flinch. However to say he wasn't uncomfortable would be an outright lie. Internally he was battling down the instinct to leave, and run as far away as he could. Ankou could feel his jaw twitch as he swallowed.

"It's true that you lost control of your Nightmares when you were defeated by the guardians, right?"

Pitch visibly winced at this question. That particular fact was an extremely uncomfortable topic for the boogieman. Luckily he didn't have to dwell on that statement for long. Without even waiting for an answer Ankou continued.

"The guardians found out someone or something has taken control of the Nightmares, and it's causing them to rampage. No one knows what's causing it, just that it's bad, and only going to get worse."

Pitch's brows kit together angrily. This was the first he had heard of such a thing! Why! They were his nightmares! He should have been the first to know! Unfortunately his anger was not directed at the guardians alone. He was as much to blame, if he had been stronger her would have known the moment this all started. In fact if he had been stronger it wouldn't have happened at all, at least not without him wishing it.

"Why wasn't I told about this? And why are you the one to tell me, why not the guardians?!" Pitch snarled as he took a stride towards Ankou. Ankou tensed as he looked up at the taller man who towered in front of him.

"Well that's part of the news I needed to tell you about. The guardians have called an emergency meeting," the dark spirit reached into the folds of his leather cloak, and pulled out an envelope stamped with a red seal. "They sent you an express note, I was already on my way here so I decided to just take you the note my elf…now that I think of it I probably should have done that first…"

"You don't say." The boogieman's tone dripped with sarcasm. He snatched the envelope out of Ankou's extended hand, and quickly ripped it open. While scanning through the note Pitch's brows furrowed causing them to arch into a sharp V formation.

"_To Pitch Black,_

_An urgent meeting has been called at the North Pole due to information we have received about your Nightmares. You are to respond immediately, if not someone will be sent to escort you to the Pole. Ankou will also attend this meeting, along with a few other spirits, including Miss. O' lenturn._

_The Guardians"_

Pitch frowned at the letter in his hand. _What the hell? _He reread the letter once, then a second time, focusing on the lines that stood out the most.

_Urgent meeting- respond immediately- not someone will be sent to escort you._

_Including Miss. O' lenturn…_

His grip on the paper grew tighter and his pulse raced through his veins as he read the last part of the note._ She'll be there._ Again the wave of nausea hit him, and for some unknown reason a thought snuck into his head, one he couldn't make sense of.

_What if I ruined it?_

Confusion slipped into his mind. Why had he thought that? What could he have ruined? It was only logic, he couldn't ruin something if there was never anything to ruin in the first place. Btu still the thought echoed in his head.

_What if I ruined it?_

The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted his confusion. He looked up, forced to drag his eyes away from the sheet in his hands and meet Ankou's gaze. The bespectacled boy in front of him gave him an expecting gaze.

"so, you ready to head out?" Ankou asked before adding, "If we don't show up together their going to send someone else to get you. Which is fine by me, I just thought that you wouldn't be happy if they dragged you in kicking and screaming."

Pitch looked at the letter in his hands, and if looks could kill that letter would have been up in flames. Pitch didn't like being forced into anything, and as far as the guardians were concerned, they had already pushed past his limits of being bossed around. Part of him wanted to stay at his lair so they would send someone to escort him to the pole, just to spite them.

However another part of in was overwhelmed with curiosity. What was causing the rampage? As far as he knew the nightmares should have just wandered around the world, causing little to no disturbances and eventually they would disappear. Without Pitch's powers to maintain it, the nightmare sand shouldn't have been able to hold its form for so long. Something must have been holding them together.

Then there was another reason he wanted to go, although he never would have admitted to it.

… _Along with a few other spirit… including Miss. O' lenturn_

"Alright fine I'll go." He said, tucking the letter into his cloak, "But I hope those guardians understand just how pissed I am. Honestly, not telling me about my own nightmares!? That's foolish, even for them."

Ankou simply shrugged, choosing not to get involved with the boogieman's rant. He turned to face the wall, and placed a finger on the cold stone surface. Shadows seemed to expand from the point of his pale digit, spreading across the wall until a huge shadow, big enough to walk through, appeared in front of them.

Stepping aside, Ankou gestured to Pitch with mock politeness, "After you sir."

Pitch simply rolled his eyes, and stepped through the dark portal, allowing the shadows to consume him whole. Ankou followed after his, fighting the urge to stick his tongue out at the back of the boogieman's head. The dwindled for a moment after the two spirits stepped through, before vanishing back into thin air, leaving nothing but an empty lair…or so it seemed.

A cold rush of air was all that seemed to fill the silent void. Shadows cast by unknown light sources, danced upon the steep walls and corridors of the nightmare kings lair. The cavern was eerily still, as if the world had been frozen in a moment when no light had existed. Only the hushed whistle of wind that crept through the passage could be heard.

Then a soft giggle echoed through the cavern, making it sound louder and more ominous than it had meant to be. The sound pierced the veil of silence and permeated every room in the lair. Out of the shadows two cold, ice blue eyes appeared, scanning over the emptiness. Then a wicked smile appeared, as if the Cheshire cat himself had come to visit. However the mysterious guest was there to cause more than just a _little _trouble, oh no, they were there for much more than that.

"_How fun!"_ a voice bounced off the walls falling on absent ears, _"the games are finally going to start? Who knew it was so hard to catch a man's attention! Turns out raising hell with a bunch of his old minions is just the right trick!"_ another giggle filled the air; this one was more deranged than the last. The smile began to fade, leaving only the icy eyes, which soon began to follow. Right before they vanished completely, the voice left one last string of words before the silence fell once more.

"_Well now Pitch baby, let's see if you like the present I'm about to give you"_

Then silence.

* * *

**A/N: Woot! I did so many things these past weeks! I went to Utah! Went to the beach! Got hit on by a creepy guy in a van (no joke 0.o)! So much fun! That's also why this chapter is a bit late, sorry about that. Anyways, you guys should check out the deviantart link on my profile! There are lots of cool pics of the OCs and i'm working on more! As always thanks for reading and please leave a review! XOXOXOXOXO**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry it took so long! I had a virus on my laptop and I wasn't able to write DX! Okay so I'm estimating that this story will be about 20 chapters long. I have the rest drafted, but I'm still making a few tweaks here and there. Thank you to everyone who left a review you are amazing! **

"_Hey Manny remember all those years you never spoke to me?"_ the Halloween spirit looked up at the sky. The sun was slowly sinking into the horizon, and the moon had just appeared in the lavender expanse. "_You know, the ones where I wandered around clueless and alone? Well I just thought of an awesome way you can make it up to me. "_

"_All you have to do is create a gigantic hole to swallow me up, because quite frankly I'd prefer that, over this…"_

Jacqueline grimaced as she sat at the table in North's meeting room. She was surrounded by the guardians, a couple of yetis, and two mysterious women who sat across from her. The meeting had yet to start but the tension in the air was already stiflingly thick. No one spoke; Jack didn't even try to make a joke. Instead everyone wore grim expressions, and sat in utter silence.

Suddenly a huge shadow fell across the wall, growing to fill the majority of the stone expanse.

"Well it's about bloody time they got here." Bunnymund growled under his breath. Tooth quickly hushed him, as the entire group turned to watch the shadow.

Jacqueline looked from Bunny then to the wall. She briefly wondered who the giant pooka was talking about, but her curiosity was soon sated. However whether or not that was a positive thing was still under debate.

Out of the shadows Pitch stepped forth, his hands folded behind him in his usual regal fashion. A boy with thick glasses followed close behind him. An obvious look of distaste filled Pitch's eyes as he looked down his nose and scanned the room. His silvery gold orbs scrutinized each one of the guardians, as he made his way across the space and towards the table. Then he finally seemed to notice the Halloween spirit sitting on the other side of the table, and his eyes widened.

Jacqueline froze stalk still and locked her gaze with Pitch's, suddenly realizing her fatal mistake. There were only two seats left in the room, one near the head of the table next to the two women, and one directly next to Jacqueline.

_Oh no, _Jacqueline groaned in her mind.

Luckily Jacqueline was saved from the embarrassment of sitting next to Pitch when the bespectacled boy stepped past the boogieman and sat in the chair next to her. The Halloween spirit heaved a sigh of relief, but out of the corner of her eye she thought she caught Pitch throwing a nasty look in the boy's direction, or was that just her imagination? She looked back to confirm her suspicions by carefully peering out from under her lashes. She gasped when her eyes met two burning silver orbs, that where filled with questions, unfortunately they where questions that she just didn't have answers too.

Reluctantly she broke the contact by looking towards the front of the room where North stood. She couldn't answer the boogieman's questions, not when she had so many of her own. Pitch's expression hardened but he did nothing else except for sit in the chair at the head of the table, refusing to meet the gaze of any of the curious guardians.

"You are all probably know vhy you are here," North's voice broke through the silence. Everyone in the room nodded everyone but Jacqueline to be correct. She awkwardly cleared her throat to catch the room's attention,

"Err…well actually, I don't. The note I got only said that there was an emergency meeting, and that I had to come." She explained, "It didn't say anything about a reason."

North nodded sympathetically, "den I vill explain, however unfortunately it is not good news." He folded his hands behind his back and began to pace, like some kind of war general preparing his troops for battle.

"Basically, ve have been receiving multiple reports from spirits, who claim to have encountered an army of Nightmares. Of course our suspicion was naturally drawn to Pitch."

At this Pitch frowned, but said nothing. Of course this statement was completely understandable, and no one could blame the guardians for following this train of thought. Nevertheless a pang of fear pulsed in Jacqueline's blood.

Could it be true? No, it couldn't be, Pitch wouldn't throw all their hard work away, not after coming so far. Pitch could sense her fear; it trickled out of her and seeped into the surrounding air. It hurt knowing she could doubt him; however it hurt even more knowing he couldn't find it in himself to blame her.

She looked at Pitch and met his gaze, however this time she held it. Something in his eyes seemed to reach out to her, pleading innocence. Jacqueline bit her lip, something inside her screamed at her to trust him, to have faith in what they had built so far, however rocky it may be. Taking a deep breath she nodded towards the boogieman and relief flooded his eyes.

"However," North continued, "after conducting an investigation, ve ruled Pitch out." The Halloween spirit released a breath she hadn't relished she was holding. She shot a smile in Pitch's direction, the tension in his gaze melting to something softer.

"However dat leaves us vith a new set of question; vhere are dese Nightmares coming from, and vat is causing deir sudden behavior?"

Jacqueline frowned, _why would the nightmares be active if Pitch wasn't involved?_ None of what North had said made any sense at all. The nightmares seemed to be gathering in herds, which showed organized behavior, but they were also going on a crazy rampage, so what was it? Organized chaos?

The sound of a chair scraping against the tile broke Jacqueline out of her thoughts. One of the women sitting across from her had stood from her seat and turned to address the group. She had a mane of wild orange curls that almost reminded Jacqueline of a certain valentine spirit.

"April and me have been thinking of ways to discover the nightmares origins, we think that the simplest way would to set up a surveillance team and wait for the army to reappear. When they do we can follow them back to their base of operations."

North nodded, "tank you May," he said while rubbing his beard with a deft hand, "yes, I vas thinking of a similar plan, it is vorth a try. But the question I kept running into was; where would we know where to start. That's vhy I call Pitch." He said jerking his chin in the boogieman's direction.

All eyes turned toward the specter in question. Pitch frowned at the sudden attention, although he had suspected the reasons for his summoning for awhile now. He met Norths hopeful gaze, as if the Christmas spirit expected him to stand up and give a long heartfelt speech about how he would just _love _to help his long time rivals defeat yet another one of their enemies. About how he had _completely _forgiven them for humiliating and degrading him. _Gag._

_Why is it every time their faced with a problem they have to ask for help? _Pitch thought with a sneer, _first the frost child, now me and Jacqueline…their not much of heroes, are they._

"What makes you think I would help you? Why not just let what happens, happen? What could I possibly gain? If I don't help you I get my freedom." The boogie man said, leaning back in his chair with a smug smile.

North sighed, sadness reflecting in his eyes, "vell in truth I was hoping that maybe the lessons had begun to sink in by now…and while it is true that with us gone you will have your freedom back, would you truly be satisfied? Satisfied knowing that someone stole your Nightmares and used them to do what you couldn't: kill us…_all of us?" _The Russian's eyes flicked to something behind Pitch.

The boogieman's eyes followed North's trail towards the back of the room and froze when he found the destination. Jacqueline sat in her seat, her eyes searching for Pitch's gaze. Confusion and hurt echoed in her golden orbs, along with an undertone of something much heavier… disappointment.

However that wasn't what hit the boogieman the hardest. North's words echoed in Pitch's head, _would you be satisfied if they killed us-all of us?..._all of us…in other words, Jacqueline. Would that satisfy him? Knowing that his creations would be responsible for the death of this woman, a woman who had wormed underneath his skin, slowly chipped away at the walls of pretended arrogance and cut down the net of carefully erected mesh-wire fences of anger and distrust.

He sat their without saying a word, simply studying the faint patterns in the wood in front of him. As he contemplated, the rest of the room sat in utter silence, waiting for the dark spirits response with baited breath. Suddenly Pitch broke the stillness with such a sullen voice, which under any other circumstances the guardians may have thought the boogieman was replaced by an imposter.

"If I were to decide to help you, and this is just a rhetorical question…..what would you need from me? What would I need to do?" he said without looking up.

North bit the inside of his cheek to suppress a relived grin, "vell, ve vould need information on de Nightmares habits and veaknesses, any insight on vhy dey might be acting de vay dey are…and maybe, if you villing to, your help fighting dem."

Pitch sighed with a frustrated frown, his brows knitting together. After another tense pause the boogieman finally nodded before letting out another resigning sigh.

"Alright." There was no added threat, no promises of ordeal, just a simple seven lettered word that stretched miles.

A sigh of relief could be heard resounding throughout the room. Due to some strange impulse Pitch turned his head, discreetly using his peripheral vision to catch a glimpse of the Halloween spirit who had unknowingly influenced his decision. Jacqueline met his gaze, the hurt from earlier still evident in her eyes, but not quite as clear, instead it was masked by relief, and something that could be mistaken for pride.

North stood and smacked Pitch on the back, knocking the air out of the startled boogie man. The raven haired man sent an angry scowl at the exuberant Cossack, "Ha-ha! You have good in you yet Pitch! Ve have much vork ahead of us!" he cried happily.

He turned to May, April, and Sandy, "I vant you three to vork with de yetis and gather supplies! Ve need to be prepared for anything!" they all nodded and rushed to their stations.

"Bunny, Tooth, Ankou!" he barked, "I need you two to go through de reports again. Look for any patterns dat can help us predict deir movements." He told them.

"And finally Jack and Jacqueline, you are some of de best tricksters around, I need you two to help me and Pitch create a plan of action. Ve vill meet tomorrow to discuss it further-"he was cut off when Jacqueline stood and shook her head.

"Sorry North but that won't work." She said flatly.

North stiffened, "vhat? Vhy not? I thought you vould vant to stop the nightmares, vhy cant you-"Jacqueline waved her hands franticly.

"Nonono! I can help! Don't worry, I just meant I can't come to the meeting tomorrow." She corrected him. North relaxed, and looked at her curiously.

"Vhy cant you come? Vhats de matter?" he asked her.

The Halloween spirit smiled, "nothings the matter, I'm just busy tomorrow." She sighed, "You guardians are always so wrapped up in your own holidays you always forget others." She teased with a mischievous smile.

North thought about her words for a moment then suddenly slapped his forehead and laughed, "Ah! Of course! Tomorrow is October 31st!" he declared.

Jacqueline broke out in a grin, "that's right and that means I'll be busy tomorrow…and I was also wondering," she paused for a moment to steel her nerves, "if I could borrow Pitch… normally we would have a lesson planed for tomorrow, and I think this would be a good experience for him."

Pitch looked at her shocked, had he heard her right? He would have guessed that Jacqueline would have wanted nothing to do with him after their prier _incident._ But here she was asking for his presence on the biggest night of the year for her.

North rubbed his beard thought fully before nodding, "I don't see vhy not, ve can spare one day," he turned to Pitch. "Of course, Pitch still has a say in this though…"

Pitch met Jacqueline's gaze and nodded, he wasn't about to turn down the offer to scare a bunch of little kids, "it sounds fine to me."

North smiled, "good den it is decided, Pitch vill accompany Jacqueline tomorrow night." He walked over and patted the Halloween spirit on the shoulder, "good luck on Halloween." He said with twinkling eyes.

Jacqueline returned the smile, "thank you." As North walked a way to check on the others, a chill ran down Jacqueline's spine as she felt a frosty presence behind her. The dark haired woman spun around to see none other than Jack standing behind her.

"Oops sorry I didn't mean to give you a chill, I was just wondering if I could talk to you." He flashed her a snow white grin.

Jacqueline was a bit taken aback by the Frost spirits sudden urge to talk. They hadn't had the chance to actually have a conversation since the first day she was introduced to the guardians. Although that wasn't to say she was avoiding conversation, in fact she found Jack to be one of her favorites among the group. After all she had to appreciate a fellow trickster where appreciation was due.

Still that didn't explain Jacks sudden approach. Jacqueline furrowed her eyebrows, "sure, what do you need Jack?" she asked curiously.

The white haired teen glanced around the room, before grabbing Jacqueline's wrist, "let's talk in private," he said in a hushed tone before tugging her towards the hall way. Jacqueline didn't resist the pull of the winter spirit, and followed him out of the room, unaware of the silvery eyes silently watching them from across the room.

Once they were out in the hall way Jacqueline frowned, "Jack, what is all of this about is something wrong?"

Jack shook his head and released her wrist, "no, it's just that this news about the nightmares is pretty big," he stated, "and I wanted to know how things with Pitch are going."

Jacqueline froze, _does he know about what happened? _ Could it be that Jack was like Valen? And he could sense compatibility? _No- of course not! Valen can only do that because she's the valentine spirit. Why would Jack be able to do it? _

"what do you mean?" she asked cautiously.

Jack raised a brow at her, as if it were obvious what he meant, "I mean, how are the lessons going? Has he made any more progress?"

Jacqueline released a breath that she hadn't been aware she was holding. Of course Jack didn't know how could he? "Oh, that! Of course," she smiled awkwardly, "well I'll admit he has improved since the beginning, but he seems to be stuck in his current state. He hasn't back tracked, however he hasn't shown any other signs that he may be improving either." She sighed at looked to the side. "I've taught him all the basics, now it's up to him to make connections through experience."

Jack nodded, "that makes sense. I wasn't very easy to convince when I started out. I had a hard time connecting."

Jacqueline looks at the frost spirit curiously, "how _did_ you do it?"

Jack looked at her inquiringly, not quite understanding her question; he looked at her to elaborate. Jacqueline continued, "How did you connect? What made you change your mind?" she asked.

The white haired teen seemed to think for a moment before answering, "Well at first I didn't want anything to do with the guardians; I guess it was like that until I regained my memories. That's when I realized my purpose…"

With furrowed brows Jacqueline thought over Jack's words, "Do you think that could work for Pitch?"

Jack cocked his head, "hm?"

"His memories. Do you think we can use them to help him move forward?" she explained, "I heard a story once, from my friend Valen…about Pitch's past…" she looked to the side.

"Do _you _think it would help?"Jack asked. The Halloween spirit bit her lip, would it help?

Jacqueline knew that for many spirits their pasts were tender subjects. Pitch, no matter how apathetic, was no exception. Even if she decided to take the risk of starting a conversation about Pitch's past, there was no telling where it would lead. On one hand it could give him a way to connect, to help him open up and learn. On the other it could cause irreparable damage to the progress they had made, maybe even set Pitch off and cause him to shut down for good.

"Hey Jacquie?" the winter spirits voice cut through Jacqueline's contemplation. Jacqueline looked up the boy, "I have to go help North and the others, I just wanted to know how everything was going, ya'know with all this nightmare business it must be a hand full, especially with Halloween coming up and all. If you ever need to talk I'm almost always around." He smiled at her.

Jacqueline returned the gesture sincerely, "thanks Jack, that means a lot." The frosted teen simply nodded and set off with one of his signature grins.

Jacque line followed Jack through the doors of the hallway as he made they made their way back into the meeting room. However the scene that greeted them was vastly different from the one they had started in.

Apparently while they were gone a few of the elves had gotten in to the yetis stash of experimental toys, and were currently running amuck in the room. Two of them flew about over head in toy fighter pilot planes, and seemed to be starting the next world war, throwing cookies, ornaments and anything else they could find.

Another unfortunate elf was riding in a red toy car between the feet of all the occupants in the room, screaming like a terrified monkey. Clutched in his tiny hands were little bundles of colorful tail feathers, and close behind him an angry Baby Tooth was hunting for blood.

Needless to say, it took the rest of the hour to clean up the mess…

* * *

Pitch returned to his lair later that night, exhausted, and confused. The entire situation was already confusing enough as it was, but now the guardians wanted his _help?_ Pitch still wasn't entirely sure why he had agreed to help those audacious _boy scouts. _Honestly, he must have been temporarily out of his mind.

Pitch paced down the hall for what seemed to be the hundredth time that night. Anxiously second-guessing his decision at every turn. _What did I get myself into? Why the hell would I do something so stupid? Why haven't the nightmares disappeared, what's causing them to rampage?_

Another question echoed in his mind, one more unwelcome than the rest.

_Why had Jacqueline wandered off with the frost boy?_

The nightmare king groaned in frustration and tugged his hands through his hair carelessly. He stopped pacing and dragged his hands down his face, "what's done is done…." He muttered.

His hands dropped to his side, and he huffed in defeat. What he needed was to blow of some steam. Of course he couldn't do anything to drastic without the guardians hounding his every move. So he would have to settle for something simpler.

"A walk," he spoke to himself, his voice echoing through the empty lair, "that's what I need."

With that Pitch summoned the shadows to consume him and bring him to the surface. He stepped out of the shadows under a flickering street light and onto an abandoned street. Cool night air greeted the boogie man as he stepped onto the empty sidewalk. Above head the moon sat quietly, peeking out from behind a cluster of dark clouds. Pitch took a deep breath letting the chilly air fill his lungs and clear his senses.

As he walked he idly scanned the street, watching for midnight joggers or rambunctious youths, roaming the night in search of excitement. He wasn't really expecting to see anyone considering it was the dead of night, and everyone was already safe at home asleep in their beds. Well as safe as one can be when there was an armada of ravenous nightmares stampeding the hour of darkness.

Which was probably why the nightmare king was so taken by surprise as he passed a darkened bus stop, where he saw a woman watching him from the bench. Of course she wasn't actually looking at him, she couldn't b. He was invisible to all he wished, and even then only children and believers could lay eyes on him. Still the fact that the woman seemed to be looking directly at him somehow unsettled him.

Pitch stopped to watch the woman, briefly wondering what she may be doing outside at this hour. She wasn't wandering the streets causing trouble or a lost soul looking for shelter from the night. No, the pristine white dress suit she wore, along with her ramrod posture gave the impression that she was meant to be there, that she somehow had a purpose to fulfill.

Yet there was still something about her, the look in her eyes, the way her face seemed to be frozen into an unreadable mask, and the way she seemed to stare unblinkingly into what seemed to be empty air, made Pitch believe, that whatever reason she had for being there wasn't particularly pleasant one.

Maybe it was curiosity, or the need to know this humans unknown intention, but as Pitch watched her, some mysterious force seemed to pull him closer. Cautiously at first then closer and closer, until he stood mere feet away, wary of her unsettling gaze.

Suddenly her blank expression broke, and her thin lips stretched into a sinister grin, "hello there, sweetie." Her voice dripping with sickly sweet honey.

Pitch froze, had she just spoken to him? No! That would be imposable! There must have been someone behind him.

He turned to look over his shoulder to look for whoever the strange woman was addressing. However when he turned her was greeted by nothing but a desolate street lined with flickering street lights. That's when it hit him, she was talking to him.

Pitch felt a muscle in his jaw jump as his body tensed instinctively. His eyes narrowed as he turned to look back at the woman who was obviously more than she seemed.

"Oh yes, I'm talking to you, but of course you must have realized that by now…" she cooed and smiled revealing faultlessly white teeth framed by glossy red lips.

In one fluid motion she stood and approached Pitch, "oh don't tell me you've forgotten me sweetie." She circled him slowly and reached out to drag a perfectly manicured nail down his chest.

Pitch frowned and swatted the woman away, "who are you!" he snarled. Who was this woman, and why did she act so familiar with him?

The woman laughed stepping away from Pitch, and suddenly her figure began to morph, like a picture underwater. Her image swam for a moment, distorted by some kind of magic, before piecing itself back together. When her form solidified a new woman stood before him.

Her long golden curls were pinned up, revealing a pair of cold blue eyes that, "come now Pitchy baby, don't tell me you fell for such a simple guise?" she hummed and sauntered up to him, her short white chiton swishing along with her stride.

Pitch's gaze hardened as he looked upon the woman with distain, "Eris…" he frowned, "What do you want."

"Cant I just stop by to talk to a _special_ friend." She giggled.

Pitch scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I'd hardly call us _friends, _much less anything close to your definition of _special."_

The boogieman would admit that they had, at one time, been close. However not nearly as close as the chaos goddess would hope to believe. They had been partners once, or rather a mentor and student…

Back before the dark ages when Pitch was still causing minor mayhem, Eris had just become a spirit. At first she was lost, not knowing what purpose she had and rather unfamiliar of her new powers. Pitch had found her and discovered her potential, deciding her gifts would be useful for his future plans, and took her under his wing.

However, during the dark ages when Pitch was at the peak of his success, Eris had somehow convinced herself that they _belonged _together, and were meant to rule together as _dark king and queen._ Needless to say Pitch wasn't interested in sharing his reign, much less with someone he saw as his lesser.

At first he tried to use her desires to manipulate her and her powers, however as her obsession grew, so did her mental instability…

After that Pitch cut ties with her and they went their separate ways. Every once and a while she would pop up and follow him like a lost duckling, spouting nonsense about creating a new dark age based entirely on their _shared_ love of all things dark. At first it had been amusing but after hundreds of years dealing with her, the routine quickly got old.

Eris pouted, "now don't be that way, remember all the good times we had." She referred to the mayhem they caused in the dark ages.

Pitch shook his head, "that was far too long ago for me to care." He sneered and attempted to turn and walk away, "now if that's all…"

"Wait! Pitchy cant you stay?" Eris clung to his arm, "I have something special to tell you." She purred and bat her eyes.

Pitch raised a nonexistent brow at her attempts to charm him, not impressed. "Oh really and what could you possibly have to tell me that I haven't already heard?" he said skeptically.

"A game," Eris' voice suddenly became drawn and layered, "A game has been set in motion, and I hold the pieces…and at the finish line there's a gift…for you."

Pitch frowned at her cryptic message, her tone settling in his head and causing a chill to run down his spine.

"What do you mean a game? What prize?" he pushed her to continue irritantly, as she clung to him tighter.

Her icy eyes suddenly became magnetic and vicious, "you'll see soon…but first there is an unwelcome player that has to be…eliminated."

Pitch frowned at the demented goddess, "what the hell are you talking about?!" he snarled and ripped his arm from her grasp.

Eris only laughed, "Hush now Pitchy! I don't want to spoil to surprise!" she stepped back and began to fade from existence, "I have to take care of the preparations but you'll be hearing from me soon." She grinned maliciously at him.

"Preparations? For what?! ERIS!" he snarled in frustration and went to grab her, but he was met with nothing but empty air.

Pitch was left there standing on the street alone. The dim street lights flickering over head, casting ominous shadows on the black asphalt. The boogieman stood there in the cold autumn wind and clenched his fist angrily.

What had she meant when she said there was an, _unwelcome player_ that needed to be eliminated? What game was she speaking of?

An eerie chill ran down Pitch's spine, but he shook it off. "It's just more of Eris' nonsense…" he murmured and decided to head back to his lair. However deep down something about her words shook him to the core.

**A/N: finally! I'm done! Woot! Sorry for making you all wait so long, but life happens, sorry. Hoped it was worth it! Leave a review! XOXOXOXO**


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